THE pump station at the newly built Kanku Road housing complex in Isipingo has allegedly never been operational since it was built, and all the sewage it is supposed to process is being flushed into the complex’s drains.
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These troubling allegations were recently made by Ward 90 councillor Shad Nowbuth as some sections of the complex experience sewage outfall when human waste clogs the drainage system.
Residents started moving into the 360-unit complex in July 2023 after living in a transit camp about 500m away since 2009. They had been promised proper housing after they were moved from various informal settlements ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup which was hosted by South Africa. Handled jointly by eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Human Settlements (DHS), the R70-million project was launched in 2020.
Nowbuth alleged that shortcuts were taken to speed up the process of housing the residents as they were frequently protesting, demanding to be relocated from the transit camp.
In her November 2022 progress report, the Kanku Road housing development’s project manager, Nqobile Shabangu, said that to meet the sewage capacity, a pump station was being built. She said the pump station was to be completed in January 2023, connecting all 360 units to the sewerage system. Today, the pump station is overgrown with tall grass and dagga plants and has never performed its intended function.
A resident, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said that when the sewage clogs the drains, it backs out into his house and shoots out of the bathroom basin, shower and kitchen sink.
“It then flows into my yard, and it becomes very bad as it is unhealthy. When that happens, the municipal workers come and work on the drain that is closest to my house with rods and jet pressure. I just wish this can be solved because my joy of getting a new house has turned into misery,” said the resident.
Nowbuth said diverting sewage into the drainage system is illegal.
“All this sewage goes into drains untreated and ends up in the rivers and the sea. It also affects some Isipingo Hills’ residents because what overflows from this complex ends up on their yards. They also cannot stand the stench,” he said.
He said he has written to the eThekwini Municipality and the DHS to report the matter and seek answers.
“A high-ranking eThekwini official from the Water and Sanitation Department replied that the contractor never handed over the pump station to the municipality,” he said.
If the pump station was working accordingly, Nowbuth said it would channel the sewage to the Flamboyant Drive wastewater treatment plant where it would be processed and tested before being released to the ocean.
Questions were sent to both eThekwini and the DHS to seek answers about Nowbuth’s allegations. Only the DHS replied: “Thank you for the alert. We will ask our colleagues from eThekwini’s Water and Sanitation Department why that is so,” it said.
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