Burst pipes cause house to collapse
A house in Merebank is on the brink of collapsing while thousands of litres of raw sewage is flowing into a local canal.
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Durban - A house is on the brink of collapsing while thousands of litres of raw sewage is flowing into a canal in Merebank, south of Durban, after underground pipes burst during Monday’s storm.
The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) said this could lead to serious health problems.
The pipe extends from behind blocks of flats in Dinapur Road, behind houses, and over the canal to the southern wastewater treatment works.
The force of the water eroded the soil and smashed a chunk of concrete off the canal wall. Next to the sinkhole it created is the home of Ramesh Gajadhar.
His house walls have begun to crack and he moved all his possessions to a neighbour’s home for storage. His foundation had been eroded, he claimed, because of the alleged delay by eThekwini Municipality from stopping the leak.
A contractor had come on site on Wednesday but was waiting for approval from municipal management before he could start the job said, Aubrey Snyman, the eThekwini Ward 68 councillor.
“It is a major job. The documentation is being processed as urgent. Since Monday, sewage has been pouring into the canal which goes out to sea,” Snyman said.
Gajadhar said he was at work when his wife alerted him. At first she heard noises and thought there were burglars climbing over their fence at the back. Their backyard borders the canal and the side borders the block of flats.
Later in the day she heard the same noise and upon investigating found a huge sinkhole.
“My home is not safe. While they dwell on which contractor should get the job I fear my home may be sucked into the hole.
“There are no caution signs to warn people of the danger. Residents still hung their washing and kids ran about near the hole. Since Monday, my wife and two daughters have been living with my parents in the main building,” Gajadhar said.
A manhole which was bricked up to ground level was found at the bottom of the sinkhole, part of the bricks were broken, meters below.
The concrete walls on the Buldana Road canal where the pipe burst, cracked and broke under the pressure of the water. The Palisade fencing behind the block of flats was also swallowed up by the hole as well as Gajadhar’s precast fencing.
Environmental activist, Desmond D’sa, said raw sewage is unhealthy because there was swimming and fishing at Cuttings beach where the canal flows to.
“This would have an impact on health and the fish would be poisoned with heavy metals. The way forward is to bring in machinery like honey suckers and sewage cleaning trucks.
“The list of illnesses is extensive. Sewage also contains high levels of nutrients such as phosphate and nitrates which can lead to the deaths’ of rivers and lakes and seas through eutrophication (excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water),” D’Sa said.
The eThekwini Municipality had not responded to questions from the Daily News by the time of going to press.
Daily News