Burst sewer stops businessman in his tracks
A burst sewerage pipe has erupted from underneath Sabelo Mkhonto’s driveway, preventing him from driving his car out of his yard.
Yet another Mamelodi family has been stuck with a burst sewer for almost two weeks.
Sabelo Mkhonto, owner of Moombora Street Section B3 in Mamelodi West, said sewerage pipes run under his driveway, and burst almost two weeks ago.
He said the burst pipe damaged his driveway, spilling human waste.
“My family and I feel trapped,” Mkhonto said, adding he was unable to drive his car out because the driveway was so badly damaged.
He said it looked like a sinkhole, so he was unwilling to risk damaging his car while driving out.
Mkhonto said said he runs his events business from home and already had to make cancellations, causing a financial loss.
“I was forced to cancel more than three events booked last month, because of the burst pipe.”
He said he reported the problem on October 16 and a Tshwane stormwater drain team came out for two days to inspector the area.
Mkhonto said the team promised to return the following day with a TLB to repair the burst pipe.
He claimed residents of Nkandla informal settlement were to blame, because they threw foreign objects into the stormwater drain connected to the sewer system under his driveway.
“The sewer is now blocked and waste water can no longer flow, so the pressure underneath caused the burst and damage to my driveway.”
The residents said they were more worried about the continuous overflowing of human waste because they had small children.
Mkhonto added that this was not the first time the sewerage pipe had been blocked and that sewage was flowing freely. “It’s affecting my livelihood,” he said.
“The neighbours are also complaining about the stench and are worried about their health. They are unable to open their windows for fresh air,” he said.
Mkhonto complained that he was paying Tshwane for service every month, but had to wait for almost two weeks for people to fix the problem.
He said the residents of Moombora Street have signed a petition demanding that the metro repairs the burst pipe immediately.
Tshwane had not responded to Rekord’s request for comment at the time of publication.
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