Video
GEORGE NEWS AND VIDEO - A concerned resident took disturbing video footage of a sewage "waterfall" from the Eden sewage pump station into the Garden Route Dam last week.
The spillage occurred on Thursday after the heavy downpour from Wednesday night through Thursday morning. This is the umpteenth time that the newspaper publishes a complaint about sewage overflow into the city's drinking water source.
Responding to the video, George Municipality Acting Director of Civil Engineering Services Lionel Daniels said the abnormal rainfall caused an increase in the volume of water flowing into the pump station.
Watch the supplied video below:
"The water ingress caused flooding and spillage of raw sewage diluted with rainwater at the pump station. The problem is compounded by the often ignorant yet illegal drainage of household rainwater into the sewer system and unavoidable infiltration of groundwater into underground pipe networks when soil is saturated by heavy rains. The department was fully aware of the situation at the Eden pump station as per our computerised monitoring system as well as per our daily process controller site visit."
Daniels said once the rainwater subsided there was no further overflowing.
"The issue resolved as soon as the pumping system could handle the inflow into the system. Staff cleaned and sanitised the area as soon as the weather permitted."
Residents must review their gutters, pool outlets
Daniels appealed to residents to review their household gutters, swimming pool flush outlets and internal storm water systems to ensure that water is not discharged into the sewer system by illegal connection of gutters.
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