When entering Stinkwater near Hammanskraal in the north of Pretoria, one is greeted by streets overflowing with excreta and wastewater gushing from clogged manholes. The sight has become a landmark, and residents are accusing the municipality of negligence. 

Lazarus Matjebe (61) has lived in the area for more than 20 years and says the municipality has not been responsive to their complaints. He says they report the leaking sewage almost daily, but they are given the runaround. 

“There is no progress in this matter.  And the children’s health and safety are at stake because they are playing in the streets around those hazards. We spoke to the ward councillor and she told us to call the municipality where we have to use our last cents to log a call,” Matjebe tells Health-e News. “Some of the residents are concerned about the mosquitoes that have infested the area due to the waste on the streets.”

Another community member, Sarah Rhibombo (34), says the situation has left her feeling helpless. “There’s an overflowing manhole in front of my yard. Plumbers from the municipality have been trying to fix it, but it’s not working,” she says. 

“Apart from the stench, my children (aged 15,12,8, and 3) and their friends often run along this waste stream straight to the river where they try to catch fish sometimes.” 

Environmental and health hazard

Charl Deacon, a post-doctoral research fellow in Stellenbosch University’s Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, warns that wastewater entering waterbodies has far-reaching consequences for biodiversity and nuisance insects such as mosquitoes and some fly species thrive in polluted environments.

“Two more problems are imminent. The first is that waterbodies are connected on the surface and through groundwater, meaning that the effects of pollution is not only felt at the point of entry – effects have great potential to spread to other nearby areas. The second is that recovery towards the natural state is often extremely slow, taking several years, and can only be achieved if all environmental impacts are completely lifted and managed”.  

City of Tshwane spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, says a team is dispatched to remove the blockages whenever these are reported. “However, the sewer spillages in the Stinkwater RDP area are caused by a sewer pump station that is not operational due to vandalism. There are blockages that are experienced when there are heavy rains. The system becomes overloaded by stormwater since communities divert stormwater into the sewer network.”  – Health-e News