City claims sewage issue is resolved

Springs resident William Shaw feels there is no escape for his family as they live with flowing sewage.

Shaw explains the issue has been recurring for the last ten years.

“It seems there is a bigger problem that the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) cannot resolve,” he added.

This time Shaw claims the sewage has taken over his yard for almost six weeks. His oldest reference number from the CoE is from August.

“I was shocked the other day when I received an SMS from the CoE informing me that the call had been closed.

“The raw sewage was still flowing. They fixed nothing was,” he said.

Shaw explained the sewage flows out of his yard into the street. This affects his neighbours, some of which are business premises.

The issue is exacerbated every time it rains. The CoE acknowledged it was aware of the problem.

“The Grootvlei Pump Station, which is next to the plant, causes the issue. When the pump station has a problem, they cannot pump away the sewer from the area. Thus, the area will experience these blockages.

“This time there was also an electrical cable fault which needed to be traced before it was resolved,” explained Zweli Dlamini, the CoE spokesperson.

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Dlamini also claimed the challenge has now been resolved.

“The lines are dropping slower on the side of the Strubenvale due to the heavy rain we experienced.

“Some households who connected their rainwater systems to the sewer system have caused this issue.

“They then increase the amount of flow in the system, resulting in overflows,” he added.

Dlamini said the residents would see a difference soon because the system takes time for the levels to drop.

“We will monitor it,” he said.