On Sunday after lunch Elizabeth Joseph, of Mentz Street Conville, known in the area as "Aunt Lokkie" was preparing to have her afternoon nap when she heard one of the family members shouting:- "Hier begin dit weer!".
Raw sewage was pushing up through the inspection hole and her backyard was covered in sewage that had started seeping into the wooden structures that belong to her children. The stench was unbearable and her granddaughter had started complaining saying she was feeling ill.
Aunt Lokkie says that this happens at least twice a month and the worst is that some of my neighbours actually blame me for the blockage despite the fact that it happens just above my house. The neighbours take out their frustration on me, as to complain to the municipality is a futile exercise. The stock answer that we receive is that this line is on the list to be replaced and upgraded but there is no money.
In the late 80s the dreaded bucket sewerage system was replaced by the water borne sewage system. Her initial joy turned to horror as virtually from day one the system failed her. Her biggest nightmare is when it rains as the problem is compounded by the rainwater that enters the sewerage system.
Aunt Lokkie was unlucky enough to be issued with a scheme house in the lowest part of the Mentz Road in Conville.
When the George Herald arrived at the house, the municipality workers were clearing the blockage, this after they had earlier worked on another problem further up the sewerage line.
This time they had removed rags, newspaper, disposable nappies and bath towels. Asked how these items get into the system, the worker said "with some of the objects it is obvious, but with the stranger and unusual objects there is a degree of plain malicious behaviour of the people who open the man-holes to discard of their unwanted items."
Harold Basson, Director Technical Services at the municipality said that the initial inspection revealed no untoward problems but a thorough examination of the line will be undertaken.
An official in the Engineering Department said that the disposal of oil and fat is a major headache for the sewerage system. When washing the dishes, the warm sink water keeps the fats and oils very liquid. As it cools down in the drains it congeals into a gooey sticky ball that grows as it attracts foreign objects moving down the system.
As fat and oil does not dissolve in water it eventually gets so large that sometimes it can get lodged kilometres from the source and causes the sewerage system to be blocked.
George resident Heleena Billing, thinks that it is time for the municipality to undertake a cost benefit analysis to establish the feasibility of supplying indigent households with toilet paper.
This will minimise the use of foreign materials used in place of toilet paper and should reduce the number of call-outs, which in turn will result in a substantial saving for the municipality. We have after all being supplying black bags to ensure that the refuse disposal system works.
What is the difference?
The inspection hole where the sewage was pushing through.
ARTICLE AND PHOTOS: MYRON RABINOWITZ
