Almost 300 school girls use three toilets

Daggafontein residents Jacques and Nadine Neumann’s property in Petrel Road looks like a swimming pool.

The backyard is completely flooded with raw sewage from an overflowing drain.

This has been an ongoing problem since May, last year.

As soon as they open a tap, a bubbling sound emits from the drains.

Their two dogs had to be relocated to a friend, and the couple feel the sewage is the reason one of their dogs became ill.

Their two children, Jaydon (6) and Cameron (4), can’t play outside because the garden is a health hazard.

While workers from the Ekurhuleni Metro did come out and investigate, they claimed the onus was on the property owners to resolve the problem, and not with the metro.

Another blocked drain is causing havoc at Veritas College, and almost 300 girls in grades eight to 11 have to make use of three toilets.

The maintenance manager at the school, Dave Marshall, reported the incident to the metro on May 22.

Workers from the municipality unblocked the main drain on the premises with rods, but Marshall claims this only resolved the problem for a few days.

On Monday, he reported the problem again, and metro workers from Nigel was due to arrive later in the afternoon, but allegedly reported to a house in the vicinity and not to the school.

Marshall reported this to the metro, and is still waiting for a response.

A business in Argon Road, Fulcrum, is also plagued with drain problems.

A terrible stench greeted staff on Monday, allegedly originating from various blocked drains.

According to Pieter Jewaskiewitz, co-owner of the business, the problem has been ongoing for more than two years.

He claims the sewer line is blocked because illegal miners use the sewage water to mine, and when they damage the pipes, they simply cover it with soil.

The Ekurhuleni Emergency Services visited the premises on Monday and advised the owner to call a plumber.

No comment was received from the metro at the time of going to print.