A Bloekombos church was swamped by sewage at the weekend following a pipe blockage in the area.
Pastor Makhosi Hoyini, of the Open Vision Church, said church members had first notified him about a sewage pipe leak on Friday afternoon and it had been reported to the municipality although they had not attended to it immediately.
The situation had deteriorated rapidly by Saturday, and he had arrived at the church to find sewage inside. “The situation was worse. As you can see, faeces is everywhere,” he said.
He said he had come to the church on Saturday morning, after working a night shift, to clean it up so that it would be ready for the Sunday service.
He used concrete blocks to try to keep the sewage out of the church.
Kraaifontein community activist Linda Pito said the area was plagued by potholes and drainage problems, and he was convinced its sewers and drains had collapsed.
“We have been having service delivery challenges for a while,” he said.
Mayoral committee member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien, said a blocked sewer pipe had caused a spill in Sam Njokozela Avenue, where the church is, but it had been cleared and the area cleaned.Â
Municipal staff had been unable to clean inside the church because it had been locked, but they would return if needed, he said.
“The team also cleared a sewer pipe blocked by waste items which affected Daza Street. Generally waste items such as fats, rags, sand and stones are found in our sewer pipes, which should not be there so they cause blockages,” he said.
Bloekombos was highly populated, and that strained the sewers, he said, but future projects were planned to expand the sewer lines and prevent recurring blockages, he said.
Meanwhile, the City’s roads department said it would attend to blocked stormwater drains in Tyatyeka and Alastair streets.
