Sewage leak invades family home
This recurring sewage leak has been affecting the family for more than a month
For more than a month, Ranjith Brijnath and his family have had to live a confined life.
They didn’t venture into their backyard and changed their routine to avoid coming into contact with the foul sewage leak that had flooded their premises.
At the beginning of August, Mr Brijnath noticed a leak from the main manhole, which is inside his yard in 15th Street, Forderville.
Backyard in a mess
It became clear that this leak needed urgent attention.
“I called uThukela District Municipality on August 8. Today it’s August 23 and nothing has been done. Look at this mess,” he said when he invited a reporter from the Estcourt News to his home.
The Brijnath’s backyard was a mess indeed.
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Apart from the foul smell that hung thickly in the air, the murky water and its awful contents had invaded every inch of the yard, even the drains were filled with the sewage.
With no response from the district municipality and the leak going on for a third week, Mr Brijnath, in desperation, hired a private plumber to unblock the manhole in his yard.
“Bearing the brunt of other people’s problems”
The plumber verified that there was a massive blockage in the line and as his tools penetrated further into the manhole, bits of cloth were removed.
“This manhole services four homes, none of them is mine. My sewage line joins the main line; this manhole does not serve me. I am bearing the brunt of other people’s problems. I have lived here for 30 years and didn’t have this type of problems,” Mr Brijnath said.
Sensing his distress, a neighbor stepped in and on August 25, uThukela District Municipality staff went to the home and the manhole was unblocked.
Mr Brijnath advised a reporter from the Estcourt News to hold off with publicising the leak in the paper.
However, this was short-lived.
Leaks springs up again
On Monday morning (September 5), Mr Brijnath woke to the sight of the sewage leak.
His immediate reaction was to call the district municipality but he was not given a satisfactory answer.
“In the morning, I was told by the staff member that he “will try” to come see me. By the afternoon, he did come and said he can’t do the work by himself and he will return with a team the next day,” he related.
Meanwhile, a media inquiry sent to uThukela District Municipality in August has remained unanswered.
“We can’t live like this. This is a mess. I am at my wits end,” Mr Brijnath concluded, hoping that Tuesday would bring renewed hope for the sewage leak repair.
Mr Brijnath confirmed on Thursday (September 8) that uThukela staff had unblocked the manhole.
He was keeping his fingers crossed that it is a lasting solution, saying that the previous time, the leak resurfaced six days later.
The district municipality’s communication unit has not yet responded to this concern.
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