Residents of Timothy Valley in Bethelsdorp are begging the municipality to attend to a sewage crisis which has been affecting hundreds of families for almost three decades.
Desperate community members are digging trenches to try divert the rising wastewater which is forming ponds of raw sewage in their yards.
But try as they may many people, including children, are reportedly falling ill at an alarming rate.
Community leader Allen Snowman, who said he had moved to the area at the start of its brick-and-mortar development 27 years ago, claimed the municipality had done little to alleviate their plight.
The frustrated residents appeared hopeless as they spoke out on Friday about their dire situation.
Snowman said officials had indicated that old sewage pipes needed to be replaced as they had been incorrectly fitted when the urban settlement was established.
This caused drains to be clogged and unable to flush away wastewater.
He said the municipality was complacent about other issues adding to the blockages, including wide-scale dumping and a lack of stormwater drain maintenance.
“Officials promised three weeks ago to attend to our problems, but to no avail,” a dejected Snowman said.
He said the previous Ward 31 councillor had summoned an engineer to his address in Siyazama Street four years ago, identifying it as a vandalised house from which the purported incorrect pipes extended.
The 51-year-old created a makeshift trench using bricks to channel the water away.
He is one of many residents, including along Khawuleza Street and Lingelihle Road, improvising in this way to circumvent clogged drains and broken pipes.
The Herald reported in November 2021 that a family on France Street was desperate for municipal assistance in fixing a blocked drain which they blamed for their toddler’s skin infection.
Snowman lives with seven family members.
“Our children [often go to] hospital because their bodies develop rashes and pimples,” he said.
“The municipality promised a new sewage line four or five years back.
“Here we are, all these years later, still waiting for the [municipality] to get back to us.”
Another resident, Ismail September, 35, said the puddles of raw sewage posed a serious safety risk for him and his wife.
He said he had needed to go to the clinic last week after slipping and falling into the septic mess.
“I slipped and hurt my back,” he said.
“I was on my way out of the yard when it happened. My wife has also slipped and fallen.
“It’s become so bad that we can’t even eat, and children can hardly play in the yard like any normal child.”
Hendrik Saais, 62, who heads a family of eight, said his situation was the most desperate.
“I arrived here in 1996. We’ve not had any respite since then,” Saais said.
“This happens all the time and nothing seems to get done despite all our complaints.
“It has negatively affected our quality of life.”
Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the municipality was aware of the challenge of blockages but refuted claims it had laid the pipes incorrectly 27 years ago.
Soyaya said thieves had stolen the manhole covers from a sewer line on Lingelihle Street.
“The main problem in Timothy Valley is constant vandalism, theft and suspected sabotage.
“The municipality ended up securing the line with heavy concrete blocks due to the worrying rate of theft and vandalism in the area.
“We replace infrastructure swiftly, but within a day or so the material is stolen again.”
He said a team had been dispatched to work in the area on Friday to service the community.
“While some upgrading work needs to be done in some areas in Timothy Valley, we can highlight that we have [awarded] contracts to ensure service [delivery].
“The municipality continues to make resources available, but we need residents to work with us in protecting the infrastructure.
“Sometimes our teams find rubble, nappies and other foreign objects that should not be in the system,” Soyaya said.
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