Durban - Residents living in Overport's Sheringham Road have had to live with a foul stench emanating from a leaking sewage pipe for the past two years. They say they cannot leave their doors or windows open and are constantly battling with flies in their homes.
Ward 31 councillor Remona Mckenzie said previous ward councillors had struggled with the same issue.
"I have called and spoken to the various departments and teams (and asked them to) come out to clean up, but the issue remains," she said.
Mckenzie said that for the past six months residents had complained about having to drive through the sewage, which then ended up on their cars and property. Some have even had sewage flowing into their homes. Others complained they could not walk on the pavements alongside the road because they could get filth splashed on them by a passing car.
Mckenzie believed the problem stemmed from ageing infrastructure that had been further damaged by the April and May floods.
She added that this – along with the fact that an informal settlement had sprung up in the area, resulting in homes being built close to the pavement – was making the leak worse.
Mckenzie said the residents of the informal settlement also did not have ablution facilities.
A local resident said city workers often came out to assess the leak and excavate an area. This had begun to cause cracks to develop in property fences.
The man claimed that city workers had been required to remove a fence and a gate at a nearby block of flats, as these had posed a serious safety risk to those living in the building.
Mckenzie said the issue needed to be escalated up the chain of command at the city, as the teams that had been sent out to address the problem could not seem to find a solution.
According to the DA's Heinz de Boer, eThekwini Municipality may face more criminal charges given that raw sewage continues to pollute rivers across the city.
"New information has revealed the city 'failed to comply with the instructions' of the initial contravention notice and may now have further criminal charges thrown at it," he said.
"The nonchalant attitude of the city and its ANC leadership has meanwhile been highlighted during a DA oversight inspection of the uMbilo River near Westmead earlier this week.
“An overflowing sewer manhole continues to discharge thousands of litres of effluent into the river – this while a totally destroyed sewage pipe spills its contents into the watercourse," De Boer added.
“When the clogging of manholes is reported, the City usually mobilises with speed a team to attend to them, but unfortunately due to some in our community continuing to dispose of alien objects in the system, these problems never cease,” said City spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela.
“We are appealing to our residents to work with the City by ensuring that foreign objects do not enter the system,” he added.
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