Shack farms built on council grounds are the reason for recurring sewage issues in Fredericks Street, Ward 71 councillor Gert Niemand said.
Countless phone calls and reports to the municipality give no joy to residents. In fact Mario Jacobs and Ruwaid Middleton say they have become used to the sort of stink that prohibits them from leaving their houses.
“I fear mostly for the children in the area, who I regularly see playing in the street and thus in the sewage water — where are their parents?” Jacobs said to the Record.
Niemand guided the Record through the recurring sewerage crisis in the area, property line to property line. As it is understood, at least 20 of the houses on Fredericks Street belong to the council and are rented from them. Further there are around six private properties on the street and Roodepoort Primary School is located at its lower end. A church is located on the right-hand side of the roadway, all of these properties affected by the endangering, smelly sewage water as it rushes down the roadway when the sewerage line running along the council houses is blocked up and overflows.
The real problem, however, isn’t a faulty sewerage line but the state of the council properties and their yards — filled with up to 10 shacks around each council house. It is understood these shacks are rented out at R300 or R400 a month. The shacks are illegally connected to the old sewerage line on which they’re built, extension chords hanging from roof to roof to supply electricity to the people. Between the shacks the grass is eroded with damp old carpets scattered on every premises. The scenery reminds of entering a regular informal settlement.
“The sewerage line, when it was installed so many years ago, was meant to provide for the sewerage of the 40 plus houses in its immediate vicinity, not the 100 plus human settlements currently connected to it,” Niemand said.
“Of course the sewage will regularly overflow if it is used over its capacity; it also cannot be replaced or upgraded since most of these shacks are built directly on top of it, ensuring a nightmare of removing or reallocating informal settlers before work can even begin.”
As the tour came to an end, a sewerage hole at the corner of Edward Mitchell and Manuel Street started to overflow and Niemand reported it immediately.
Niemand and Jacobs said they have received great cooperation from Joburg Water in the recent months regarding the overflow, each time receiving a fast response and solution. However, the problem will persist as long as council property is occupied by informal settlers and their shacks, the duo said.
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