Health concerns as raw sewage spews into Umkomaas river
Sewage spills and blockages reported to the eThekwini call centre in recent times have mostly gone unattended, and the sewer department has reported malfunctioning of the reported structure.
Raw sewage flowing into the Umkomaas River is a health risk. Since January 16, concerned residents who discovered the flow when it was in its infancy and now escalated to a heavy overflow have made numerous efforts to get the eThekwini Municipality to attend to it without success.
Although it is not clear where the actual source of the overflow is, it is evident that blocked pipes are the cause, as the manhole is unable to handle the overflow.
It appears the sewage had initially flowed into Sappi’s railway tracks and the river below.
A trench was dug to divert the water along the railway track into the river.
Concerned residents escalated the matter to Cllr Jane Naidoo.
Personnel at AA Spice had been smelling sewage for over two to three months and used Raj Plumbing to eliminate one pipe after the other and reinstalled all its sewage piping (90%) at a cost only to discover the problem never lay at their premises.
“The wind was blowing the smell across.
As we are in the food industry, we have to look at environmental issues, and eThekwini should consider the implications this will have on the community and the impact on tourism.
We appeal for eThekwini to resolve the matter to prevent a health outbreak,” said Brady Combrinck from AA Spice.
Sewage spills and blockages reported to the eThekwini call centre in recent times have mostly gone unattended, and the sewer department has reported malfunctioning of the reported structure.
Sappi has committed to assist by removing the dense bush to allow access to the Umkomaas Treatment Works, which needs to be unblocked.
It is said the wastewater treatment works plants have experienced a systematic collapse throughout eThekwini due to the non-maintenance of the infrastructure, which is the root cause of these spills.
The Ward Councillor Jane Naidoo said, “The outsourcing of maintenance services is a critical issue within the municipality, and the root cause of the spill, and as such, maintenance should remain the responsibility of the municipality to avoid such problems.
In the meantime, we are grateful to Sappi, who has offered assistance to help resolve the problem in the next couple of days.”
