Durban — A disgruntled Newlands East building contractor has labelled officials at eThekwini Municipality "incompetent’ because they have not been able to fix a “simple” broken sewer pipe next to Ferndale Primary School since April 2022.
During the floods, the river along Galjoen Road flowed over a culvert damaging an embankment and exposing an underground sewer pipeline. Raw sewage has been flowing into the river since then, with the unbearable stench a concern for schoolchildren and residents alike.
Newlands East contractor Selwyn Goldstone said he was wondering who at City Hall was really concerned about the raw sewage accumulation and severe pollution that has become a breeding ground for pathogens and cholera and other waterborne diseases.
Goldstone said the connecting point of the sewer main was less than a stone's throw from the broken pipe and could be repaired with three lengths of pipe and a re-positioning of the brackets on the undamaged culvert.
Frustrated Goldstone said he was willing to connect the pipeline at his own cost if nothing was done this week. He said two immediate solutions were possible without too much expense.
He said the sewer connection point could be found and a temporary line installed to prevent sewage from spilling.
“Maximum cost of materials will be R3 000 if supplied by eThekwini Water Services. The onus is on the residents of municipalities that are defunct,” he said.
Goldstone said he was willing to attend a troubleshooting meeting to help move this forward, because in his estimation for the last 154 days raw sewage and human wastewater has been pouring into the stream without stopping at a rate of at least 3 600 litres per hour off-peak.
“This calculates to more than 13 million litres of untreated sewage that's found its way to the Umgeni River catchment and the sea,” he said.
eThekwini ward 11 councillor Graeme Clarivette said he sent several emails to the municipal sanitation department and to the mayor’s office requesting the repairs be done.
The damaged pipe has also affected the school toilet systems.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said multiple site inspections had been conducted in this regard on all affected sites since the April floods.
“We would like to assure residents that all damaged roads will be repaired in due course. We ask that residents are patient with us. We apologise for the inconvenience,” Mayisela said.
Daily News