Municipality’s attitude drains resident

Corrie Harmse had been living happily at his current address since 1981, until five years ago when a shopping centre was erected next to his house.

He did not have a problem with the centre (at the corner of Ontdekkers and Beacon Roads) as such, but like clockwork every year during winter his sewerage system would become blocked and spill over into his backyard. Harmse reported the problem tirelessly to Joburg Water and various other departments over the years but received no solution to his problem. Eventually he was forced to engage the services of commercial plumbers who according to Harmse told him that the drain pipe that runs from the centre’s side is only four inches in diameter instead of the required six to eight inches. This leads to the fatty disposals, food remnants and other sewage from the centre blocking the pipe, as it is not wide enough.

On visiting Harmse on 1 June, his backyard was covered in smelly sewage that spilled over from the drain pipe that runs from the shopping centre’s side.

Harmse says that a team from Joburg Water did come out the same morning but they only cleaned out the blocked drain. According to Harmse this is merely ‘treating the symptoms of the problem and not the cause’, which would be to replace the drain pipes with the correct sized pipes.

Joburg Water allegedly also refuse to reimburse Harmse for the private plumbers he had to get to fix the problem in the past.

“Who will take responsibility for this problem now? Will Joburg Water replace the drain pipes that they wrongfully have put in in the first place or will I have to suffer now because of their mistake?” asks Harmse who is clearly at the end of his tether.