“Upon arrival on the scene, the municipal team just made a quick stop without the workers getting out, and then drove off again.”
UPINGTON residents are still mopping up the “bloody mess” caused by a drain blockage that resulted in the flooding of houses and yards in the suburb of Sewende Laan.
The residents of Ward 4 were horrified when “bloody and slimy” sewage water overflowed from their toilets, baths and sinks on Friday.
The overflow affected more than 10 houses in the suburb, raising concerns about the health risks posed by a nearby abattoir.
According to the upset residents, this was not the first time that this has happened.
They have in the past called on the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality to intervene, in terms of health regulations, but their requests have fallen on deaf ears
A representative of the Outcry of the Body of Christ community organisation, Esau Monztinger, said that this time the overflow caused by the drain blockage was even worse than before because the sewage water contained “blood and pieces of intestines”.
Monztinger said that the desperate community had called on the organisation to try and intervene and liaise with the municipality to resolve the issue.
The residents claim that the municipality’s sanitation team arrived on site on Friday but failed to do anything about the blocked drain.
“Upon arrival on the scene, the municipal team just made a quick stop without the workers getting out, and then drove off again.”
The residents accused municipal workers of neglecting their jobs during working hours and only doing work after hours in order to claim overtime.
According to the spokesperson of Dawid Kruiper Municipality, Patrick Williams, the matter was reported on Friday at about 2pm and municipal workers were immediately dispatched to the affected area.
According to Williams, it took only 30 minutes to “stabilise” the situation.
He revealed that the municipal workers had found that waste products from slaughtered animals had been dumped in the sewerage system.
“That is why the water was bloody and this also led to blockages,” he explained.
Williams called on the residents not to dispose of animal waste products in the sewerage system.
