GEORGE NEWS - A sewage spill in Bokmakierie Street has been causing sewage flowing into the Kat River near the Garden Route Dam over the past three weeks, according to a concerned resident in the street.

"The pipe has leaked sewage on and off for the past six months, but it burst about three weeks ago and since then a stream of sewage has been running into the Kat River. All this time, workers of a contractor have been trying to fix the pipe, but were unsuccessful."

The resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she had phoned the municipality on Monday 26 September to report the situation and a municipal team came out that fixed the pipe within half a day. 

On Tuesday workers of the contractor were however still on site. 

"I do not know why they still need to be here. I am concerned because we as ratepayers are paying the bill. Also, why could the situation not have been sorted out right from the beginning when there was leakage so that all this sewage had not landed in the river?"

George Municipality's senior communications officer Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe confirmed on Wednesday 28 September that the municipality is working on a section of collapsed sewer pipe in Bokmakierie Street. 

"Our teams were unsuccessful in remedying the situation as access is limited and the pipe depth exceeds 3,6 metres. We have struggled over the past few weeks with the pipe blocking occasionally. After cleaning and clearing the pipe several times over the past weeks, the sewer gravity line finally collapsed, causing this blockage."

He confirmed that the municipality appointed an external contractor to assist in replacing the section of collapsed pipeline. 

"The reason for the collapsed pipeline is under investigation. Teams are trying to limit the pollution into the Kat River because of the pipe failure. The incident has been reported to the relevant authorities. We can assure residents that everything is under control."

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