Sewage spills in Helikon Park a weekly struggle

Numerous manholes are overflowing with sewage and according to residents, when it gets unclogged, it simply overflows again a day or two later.

Ward 7 councillor Craig Harrison explains the area is experiencing manhole and drain problems on five streets including Sugarbird Street, Piet-My-Vrou Avenue, Horingbek Avenue and the corner of Pelican Road and Patrys Avenue. He noted three of them were unblocked on July 22, but it was overflowing the next day. He noted this is a weekly struggle.

He continued by saying that they believed the issues were due to overgrown tree roots, outdated infrastructure, and overcrowded student housing nearby. He noted that student housing is built to accommodate a few students per house, yet 20 to 30 residents occupy a house.

Harrison also believes students and residents should be reminded of what can and cannot be flushed down the toilet, as baby wipes and sanitary towels may clog pipes.

Resident Martin Brown explained they regularly go for a stroll in the afternoons and have to pass the sewage flowing on the streets. There are also numerous students walking the streets and residents who jog.

“It used to be clean roads but now we can’t even drive due to the sewage,” Brown said.

Harrison added the residents had to incur costs to redirect the sewage flowing towards their yards to the street.

Sakkie van Staden has experienced these struggles a month after moving into their house five years ago. At first, the sewage was flowing into his garden which he then had to redirect to the street.
“Why must we pay for services when we don’t get any?” Van Staden asked and noted they are elderly residents who can not possibly be responsible for the sewage which contains sanitary ware, nappies and pieces of fabric that were flushed.

Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) spokesperson Phillip Montshiwa was approached for comment and stated the municipality is experiencing blockages because of many reasons, including ageing infrastructure, population growth and capacity challenges.

“The community discharges foreign objects into municipal sewer infrastructure. The municipality has appointed a panel of contractors to assist with spillages across the RWCLM. The blockages are tended to as they are reported by the community. The municipality has appointed consulting engineers to assess and assist with costing of upgrading the sewer network system.”

He said the municipality has applied to The Department of Water and Sanitation to assist with funding to upgrade the water and sanitation infrastructure.

He noted this is for the whole of Rand West, which includes Helikon Park.