City blames heavy rains for Rugby sewage spill

A Rugby resident has accused the City of failing her and her neighbours by letting a sewage spill go unchecked for more than a week.

Tamara Majavie says the spill started on Monday July 15 and caused damage to her property and threatened the health of her family.

“That first week, it was hard to even leave the house. When we would flush, the water would start to rise and then flood the bathroom. Our driveway was way worse. We couldn’t get out and this even flooded our street. We had human poo, toilet paper, pads and tampons flowing out of it in our property.

“This is definitely not healthy for any of us. The smell of the human faeces in our driveway was too much. Before reaching out to Tabletalk, I was logging C3s, calling the City and spoke via their WhatsApp line to notify them of what’s happening in our driveway and also on our road. Nobody was bothering to assist us.

“My problem is that I have a special needs son with a low immune system and a heart condition and with all this poo around it’s just not good at all. Should anything (God forbid) happen where I need to rush my son to hospital, I can’t even get out of our driveway to leave.”

Mayoral committee member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien said the problem had been caused by stormwater from heavy rains straining the Rugby pump station.

“The impact of excessive stormwater on the pump station is being assessed, and the City’s water pollution control inspectorate will be conducting investigations to locate illegal stormwater ingress into sewers, which further worsens the problem. There is a high chance of this issue happening again should we get high rainfall,” he said.

Ms Majavie said things had improved since last Thursday.

“They dragged their feet for too long and now it looks like they are doing something because we contacted the media. Three City trucks were here last week to clear out the drains. And even with the storm on Saturday, we were okay. No issues on the driveway. During all of this, my toilet in the bathroom went a bit crooked and my gate motor and its track were damaged by the sewer overflow. I am busy with a claim to the City for damages.”

According to Dr Badroodien, there are several things the public can do to prevent sewer blockages:

• Check for illegal stormwater-to-sewer connections and ensure rainwater gutters do not flow into the sewer system to avoid overloading.

• Only flush human waste and toilet paper down the toilet. Anything else blocks the pipes.

• Avoid pouring cooking oils or fats down the kitchen sink. These substances harden and cause blockages.

• Report stolen or broken manhole covers to prevent rainwater and debris from entering the sewer system.

• Report illegal dumping and blocked drains.

• Use the City’s solid waste services for proper waste disposal.