Residents furious and disgusted due to lack of maintenance
The smell of sewage that engulfs the area of Ontdekkers Park is a large concern for residents and businesses living and working in the surrounding area.
Resident Fanie van As explained to the Roodepoort Record how they have been struggling with the overwhelming smell of sewage for three weeks.
The sewage is seeping out into a veld between Ontdekkers Road and Hossack Avenue and has a seriously negative effect on the surrounding community.
On December 2, Van As noted someone came to cut the grass in the area and danger tape was put up around the area of the leakage. He expressed his hopes that something was to be done, however, the problem continued.
He noted, “We pay tax, for what? It is completely unacceptable,” and added it poses a risk to the children who play in that area.
“How many children have to die before someone does something?” asked Van As.
Louis van der Merwe, an employee of Global Autohaus across from where the sewage is leaking, explained their customers do not want to park there anymore, due to the smell.
“It is affecting our business,” said Van der Merwe. He added some businesses sell food near there as well and questioned how long it will take before the sewage drains into their water systems.
Van As noted he tried reporting the matter to Joburg Water (JW) via their call centre, however, he was simply cut off after half an hour, still without having been able to report the matter.
JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala stated, “We have logged a call for the sewage leak. A job card has been created and the sewage leak will be attended to as soon as a team becomes available. Unfortunately, if there is no reference number then it is highly unlikely that JW is aware of the issue because it was not reported. The entity relies on communities to report service delivery issues. This is why JW consistently encourages residents and customers to log calls, using the various channels available, for service delivery issues such as leaking water pipes, pipe bursts, and sewage leakages.”
Shabalala concluded, “The following information needs to be provided when logging calls: what the issue is, the exact physical address and nearest corner, suburb name, and contact number [if the issue is on the customer’s property].”
They added the JW platforms where customers can log calls:
• X: @JHBWater
• Facebook: Johannesburg Water
• 24-hour Hotline: 011 688 1699/ 086 056 2874
• SMS line: 45201
• Email: customerserviceemails@jwater.co.za
