MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Baakens River Full of Sewage

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We have had a major environmental disaster in the Baakens Valley.

Thanks to copious amounts of rainwater falling in the Metro in the last few weeks, and a lot of this ending in the sewer system, (that is a whole separate story) Deficiencies and weaknesses in our sewage system are coming to the fore.

On Saturday morning 18 May 2011, while leading a group of Volunteers on an Alien vegetation clearing exercise,

We came upon the sewer in the picture. It is below Gazania Ave in Sunridge Park.

Sewage runs into the Baakens River whilst just down the road my dogs and family unknowingly walk in the water ......

Copious amounts of raw sewerage flowing swiftly into the Baakens River.

I immediately informed the Metro through their hotline 0800 20 20 50, called WESSA, and asked our Ward Councillor to report it.

By Sunday afternoon, there had been no reply from anybody, inspite of my insistence that I be kept informed.

I have it on good authority that the Pump station at the bottom of Hawthorne Avenue, Sunridge Park, was at this time not working.

This pumpstation is supposed to divert a large part of the sewerage into a different system that flows through Fairview.

I reported the continued overflow again on Monday 20 May to the same people,

A flurry of activity took place at the pump station and I understand that a Pump motor was replaced and a number of other smaller issues, resolved (broken mounting bolts and gaskets and bits and pieces).

By Thursday last week I was shown, by a worker on site, how the pump was now working and I was assured that everything would be fine.

This morning a phone call from a well placed and concerned Municipal Employee, alerted me to the fact that the sewage was still flowing into the river.

As it turns out, the pumpstation is now working fine but not at capacity.

There is a weir that controls the amount of water which enters the Station and this weir is Jammed/ defective/blocked thereby causing most of the effluent to run into the Baakens Valley line and causing this to overflow.

We cannot allow this sort of thing to continue unchecked, the entire river system below the overflow is compromised, this river empties into our harbour and the sewage is polluting our beaches.

I understand that this part of the sewerage system is in dire need of upgrading, as even a fully functioning pumpstation and weir, would not sufficiently displace enough sewerage to prevent a similar situation from occurring every time that we have some rain.

Continued calls to the Metro hotline result in more promises to call me back.

Please bring this issue to the attention of anybody that you think, may be able to address the problem

Yours faithfully

Steff Schenk

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.

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  2. I live right on the Baakens river across from the Alsation dog club. We have sewerage flowing into the river VERY regularly. My neighbour have lived here for decades and have given up on informing the municipality about these events since NO ACTION FROM THEIR SIDE HAS CHANGED THE FACT THAT THIS CONTINUES TO HAPPEN!!!!