Lower Illovo residents grow irate with ongoing sewage crisis
The nearby development, which allegedly lacks a sufficient sewage system, continues to pose health risks, as many pets and even a child have fallen ill as a result of the frequent spills.
A STREAM of pungent-smelling sewage running down a driveway and through a garden in Poss Road, Lower Illovo, has become a familiar occurrence for the residents.
The nearby development, which allegedly lacks a sufficient sewage system, continues to pose health risks, as many pets and even a child have fallen ill as a result of the frequent spills.
Visiting a Poss Road home, the stream of sewage was flowing down one property, across the road and into another property. According to home owners, who are affected by the spill and wished to remain unnamed, this happens multiple times in a week.
“It once flowed constantly for a whole week,” said a resident. “We reported it every day and nothing was done. My daughter, 6, fell frighteningly ill. She had to be put on a drip for dehydration after suffering diarrhea symptoms. My dog developed lumps on his tummy. When I took him to the vet I was told it was a bacterial infection, but the vet couldn’t say where it was from.”
The sewage stream allegedly began years ago when a construction company had completed construction of the Illovo Country Estate enough for residents to move in.
Damage incurred from the sewage stream includes the washaway of the above house’s driveway and due to it gathering near to the house, it has seeped through the concrete, into the walls and has not only moved a brick pillar, but is causing the walls of the house to crack and the building to deteriorate at a rapid speed.
Residents of a more low-lying home have been forced to dig a trench through their garden to navigate the sewage in a different route. Their pets are also continuously ill.
“We are at our wit’s end. It’s been going on so long and all we get is broken promises from the complex manager. Today (Monday, 8 July) the stench is particularly disgusting, it’s permeating into the house and the water seems to be running faster,” said an irate resident.
“When this complex was in the development stage, the developer asked if a sewerage pipeline could be laid along our boundary line, and we would be connected to it free of charge as a concession for the inconvenience. We signed papers to the agreement. He told us a complex of this size had to be on a waterborne sewage system. Now I guess it was too expensive, so plan B was the ‘mickey mouse’ septic tank that overflows with increasing regularity,” said another.
The angered residents questioned the presence of building inspectors, the department of sewage works and the health department or the environmental sector in the matter.
Both the construction company and the KZN Health Department were asked for comment on the matter, but no comment nor explanation was received at the time of going to press.
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