GEORGE NEWS - The George Municipality's after-hours sewage repair teams were too busy to attend to a severe sewage leak in the backyard of a home in Le Vallia on Saturday 5 May. This ruined the stay of a visitor to George who was unfortunate to be the occupant of the house at the time.
He said he called the fire department on the Saturday when sewage started to push up through a manhole that is located near the boundary wall.
"An official at the department told me that they would be closing at 16:30 and asked that I call back in the morning to remind them. I then opted for the municipal (after hour) service. They responded, but only on the Monday morning following the incident. And when they arrived, I was informed that they were not the team working with sewage, but with water complaints. They left, promising to send the right team."
After waiting all afternoon, the visitor (who wished to remain anonymous) finally decided to go to the fire department. "I was assisted by being handed a phone by one of the very friendly ladies who was on the line with the complaints department. I stated my case and was told that my complaint had been on the system since Saturday. I could rest assured that I would be assisted within the day." On the following Tuesday, he was still waiting.
Responding to the complaint through the George Herald, Debra Sauer, a municipal communications officer, explained that both standby teams for wastewater collection were busy over that weekend with major main sewer emergencies.
The sewage eventually seeped into the neighbour's garden. INSET: The spill led to a smelly weekend for the Le Vallia visitor.
"This caused a backlog of other complaints, which the section attended to as swiftly as possible from the Monday morning." She confirmed that the repair team managed to attend to the visitor's complaint only on the Tuesday after the incident. "With regard to the call centre, the complaint will be taken up with the management of the centre."
She said the blockage was caused by old cloths in the drain.
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