South Africa: Shacks Fill With Sewage After Pipe Collapses

Pipes need maintenance, but shacks on top of them are preventing access

Families in the Lansdown Road informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, have had raw sewage flowing through their shacks since Saturday.

GroundUp visited the settlement, near Somerset Taxi Rank, on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Sewage was gushing out of manholes. Sinkholes have developed under some shacks, causing them to collapse.

The City of Cape Town's mayco member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, told GroundUp that a sewage pipe collapsed. This is linked to previous incidents in the nearby SST informal settlement, where 40 shacks have been built on top of the sewer line. Those shacks need to be moved so that the sewer pipe can be maintained, said Badroodien.

"We left our shacks and stood on the pavement as the water flowed into our shacks throughout the night," said resident Zelda Makeleni.

Residents' belongings have been soaked with sewage, and their furniture has been damaged. Groceries have also been drenched.

"Even if the water subsides, we can't stay in our shacks because of the unbearable stench. I don't know where we will sleep," said Makeleni.

Nosiviwe Matomela, who sells braai'd meat, cool drinks and sweets to support her three children, said she had to close her stand.

Matomela slept at a relative's house on Saturday night after dirty water drenched her bed, wardrobe and cupboard and damaged her fridge.

"My shack burned in 2023 along with all my belongings, but I managed to raise money to buy them again. Now it breaks my heart that they are damaged," she said.

Sinovuyo Dlula, another resident who sells braai'd meat, said she has closed her stall. "I can't sell meat while sewage is passing through my stand," she said.

"Customers can't eat meat while they inhale the stench from the sewage."

Two mobile pumps have been deployed since Sunday to drain the flooded sewage, said Badroodien. But when GroundUp visited the site on Tuesday, there was little improvement.

Read the original article on GroundUp.