Winterstrand residents are fuming about raw sewage they allege is being pumped out of a neighbour’s septic tank into a stormwater drain at the seaside suburb.
Nelie Pretorius said her upstairs bedroom was just metres from the stormwater drain on Gerald’s Place and that the stench woke her up at night.
“He takes a hosepipe and puts it into his septic tank in the middle of the night and drains the water out and it goes down the road into the stormwater drain.
“To wake up at night with the smell of **** in your nose is really not nice. He does this at least once a month. I don’t think he wants to pay for the honeysucker,” said Pretorius.
She alleged that the neighbour, Conelius Mzimane, had been draining his tank into the street for about four years and that numerous complaints to BCM had yet to put an end to the smelly problem.
“When it first happened a few years ago, he said it was his house and he could do what he wants. After that he ignored me.”
She said municipal officials had visited the site “at least three times” but the issue had yet to be resolved.
Last month, Pretorius sneaked out of her home, shone a torch at Mzimane’s septic tank cover and photographed a green hosepipe pushed under the lid.
She said she was again woken by the stink at 1am on Wednesday morning.
When the Dispatch called Mzimane, he denied siphoning out the contents of his tank, saying it overflowed when full.
“When the septic tank is full, it goes to the drain immediately. How do you pump it out?
“You are asking me **** now,” he said.
“The honeysucker was here on a long weekend. It helped others and then came to suck .”
Using abusive language, he threatened to sue the Dispatch if it published a report on the matter.
The BCM “honeysucker” (vacuum truck) service which clears out septic tanks, costs R333 a load.
Winterstrand resident Des Stanford said he had seen sewage run from Mzimane’s property and had called BCM’s health department to complain.
“I have called the health department 10 to 20 times over three or four years to complain because this happens often.
“The health inspector came and said he would write a letter to him, but this just carries on and if the wind blows from the east I get the smell. Something has to be done about this. It’s not a healthy situation.”
Another neighbour, Owen Weyer, described the situation as a health hazard, saying the stormwater flowed into the sea.
“It is not right what he is doing. He pumps his septic tank into the stormwater drain which goes straight out to sea. He is not the only one in the village who does this,” said Weyer.
BCM had not responded to questions by the time of writing. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Stink over man allegedly draining his raw sewage
Nelie Pretorius said her upstairs bedroom was just metres from the stormwater drain on Gerald’s Place and that the stench woke her up at night.
“He takes a hosepipe and puts it into his septic tank in the middle of the night and drains the water out and it goes down the road into the stormwater drain.
“To wake up at night with the smell of **** in your nose is really not nice. He does this at least once a month. I don’t think he wants to pay for the honeysucker,” said Pretorius.
She alleged that the neighbour, Conelius Mzimane, had been draining his tank into the street for about four years and that numerous complaints to BCM had yet to put an end to the smelly problem.
“When it first happened a few years ago, he said it was his house and he could do what he wants. After that he ignored me.”
She said municipal officials had visited the site “at least three times” but the issue had yet to be resolved.
Last month, Pretorius sneaked out of her home, shone a torch at Mzimane’s septic tank cover and photographed a green hosepipe pushed under the lid.
She said she was again woken by the stink at 1am on Wednesday morning.
When the Dispatch called Mzimane, he denied siphoning out the contents of his tank, saying it overflowed when full.
“When the septic tank is full, it goes to the drain immediately. How do you pump it out?
“You are asking me **** now,” he said.
“The honeysucker was here on a long weekend. It helped others and then came to suck .”
Using abusive language, he threatened to sue the Dispatch if it published a report on the matter.
The BCM “honeysucker” (vacuum truck) service which clears out septic tanks, costs R333 a load.
Winterstrand resident Des Stanford said he had seen sewage run from Mzimane’s property and had called BCM’s health department to complain.
“I have called the health department 10 to 20 times over three or four years to complain because this happens often.
“The health inspector came and said he would write a letter to him, but this just carries on and if the wind blows from the east I get the smell. Something has to be done about this. It’s not a healthy situation.”
Another neighbour, Owen Weyer, described the situation as a health hazard, saying the stormwater flowed into the sea.
“It is not right what he is doing. He pumps his septic tank into the stormwater drain which goes straight out to sea. He is not the only one in the village who does this,” said Weyer.
BCM had not responded to questions by the time of writing. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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