After pleas from residents in Mothutlung near Brits for the Madibeng municipality to look into the sewage crisis the past year, mayor Jostina Mothibe and representatives of the municipality’s technical department, finally visited the village on Friday to establish the seriousness of the situation.
The Mothutlung sewage purification plant was destroyed in 2018 by Mothutlung residents when they burnt it down during a service delivery protest. Since then, the sewer has been dormant causing spills, flooding streets and even homes.
Mothibe visited two households of elderly women to view firsthand how the spills affected residents. To make matters worse, houses have been built on top of the sewer line, making it impossible to access blocked pipes.
“We cannot live like this, the sewage floods my garden and then streams into the house. It even overflows from the toilet,” said 74-year-old Johanna Peteke.
In another household, the homeowner had to build a culvert to redirect the sewage and water from her home.
Following the visit, Mothibe said the immediate solution is to suck sewage from the sewer line twice a week until the new financial year in July 2021 when the municipality will have funds to redirect the sewer to the Damonsville plant and from there to the Brits plant.
“Residents burnt down the new plant in Mothutlung in 2018 while the municipality was busy renovating it. For homeowners whose houses have been built on top of the sewer, the municipality has already offered to relocate them until the construction of the new sewer is completed. The housing department has approved R600 000 for the construction of the new sewer and the plans have also been approved.”