Oil, organic matter and domestic waste are clogging up Endumeni’s storm-water drainage system ahead of the expected rainy season, as spring approaches.
A team of municipal workers recently removed oil from one storm-water drain in Albert Street, believed to have been dumped by people working on vehicles.
FC Bester of the Endumeni Residents Association, who is also an environmental consultant, said he had reported the matter to the Department of Environmental Affairs, as he feared that the oil would pollute the nearby Steenkoolspruit, which in turn flows into the Buffalo River – from where Endumeni’s potable water is extracted.
Bester said that while informal traders had a right to ply their trade to earn a living, he is concerned that too few refuse bins are available for them to discard their waste.
“Vegetables, plastic and papers are all dumped into the gutters and end up clogging up the drains.
“Wilson and lower Victoria Street are especially vulnerable to flooding during heavy rains and this is where most of the drains are blocked.”
He called on the municipality to take a proactive stance by clearing out storm-water drains before the rains come and to provide hawkers with extra rubbish bins.
He cited Newcastle, where the municipality has embarked on an active campaign to clean the storm-water drains in the town’s CBD.
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