Durban — A Bluff homeowner, who has had a stream of sewage flowing through his property for three weeks, has made a impassioned plea to municipal officials to fix the problem.
A municipal sewer and manhole, within a servitude traversing many properties on one side of the street in the Treasure Beach zone, was blocked, said the homeowner, who wished to remain anonymous.
This was first reported on Monday, July 25. In an email to the municipality, he said this had caused the municipal manhole on his property to overflow and it had caused a backup/ clogging of the main sewer, resulting in sewage overflowing from manholes to at least 12 properties.
The homeowner also detailed his plight and the plight of municipal workers who tried to resolve the problem.
“A plumber, contracted to the municipality, arrived but he was looking for an empty manhole to try and rod the blockage.
“He could not find an empty manhole on numerous properties because they were all overflowing.”
“He also did not have the right equipment and left, saying he would contact control to send the big truck with power hose/jet hose,” wrote the homeowner.
The next day another plumber arrived with the task of fixing a water pipe leak. He left without doing anything. The homeowner said eThekwini call centres employees assured residents that the matter was getting attention.
On August 1, when the homeowner called the centre he was informed that the complaint was attended to and the case was closed.
“I assured the call centre that nobody arrived because I have been at home every day, the whole day, awaiting municipal plumbers.
“I was given a new reference number. In the meantime the overflow has worsened considerably. The overflow (pushing through the manhole lid) is running down my property like a stream.
“The washing away of the soil has caused one of my trees to fall over and the soil erosion is now undermining the foundations of my boundary wall,” said the homeowner.
The sewerage water has made its way underneath the public stairs that lead to Treasure Beach Education Centre where many children arrive for excursions.
eThekwini ward 66 councillor Zoe Solomon said the problem was monitored from day one.
Solomon said a municipal pump house on Ernest Bower Road malfunctioned because of vandalism.
Solomon said it was not only the Bluff area but the entire eThekwini region that was experiencing sewerage-related problems.
Daily News