Durban residents battle ‘sewage crisis’

The backlog caused by recent flooding and old sewerage pipes has residents of Mayville and Cato Crest in Durban jumping over foul-smelling streams of sewage.

GroundUp spoke to several residents who say they feel neglected by the eThekwini municipality. Sewage consistently overflows onto main roads. They have to jump over streams of sewage to get into the police station.

Ward councillor Warren Burne (DA) told GroundUp the underground sewerage system no longer meets the needs of the growing population.

“The City needs to change the underground pipes because many people have rented out backrooms and some have done illegal connections,” said Burne.

Later this month, the DA in KwaZulu-Natal is to take the eThekwini municipality to court over what it says is a sewage crisis in the city.

Community leader Ndoda Mzimela said many people move to Mayville because it is one of the nearest townships to job opportunities in the city centre and nearby industrial area. “Some people living here just walk to work.”

Mzimela said during elections last year politicians visited the community and made promises, but nothing changed. “Come local elections, they will come and promise us again.”

EThekwini municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said: “These blockages are largely due to consumer abuse and misuse of the sewer system. One of the main contributing factors is a sewer pipe along Vusi Mzimela Road that requires upsizing, following damage caused by previous floods.”

Sewer blockages are cleared regularly, she said.

Sisilana said some housing developments had been completed without proper connection to the existing sewer infrastructure. This had exacerbated the problem, she said.