No help as smelly spring floods her yard

A natural spring suddenly started flowing at a Dimbaza home in May, going under the foundation, rotting old trees and posing a health hazard due to green algae blanketing the water.

Resident Phila Ndzengane, 74, said in the 50 years she has lived in the home, this had never happened before.

She noticed water coming into her backyard in May and told her neighbour about it.

This was because she thought the neighbour, Richard Pawulos, had a broken pipe that could be causing the problem.

But BCM plumbers have confirmed there was no broken pipe.

“My whole yard is covered in water. The mats are damp inside.

“This has created a bad smell inside our house and we have to always leave the windows open during daytime.”

She said BCM workers dug a hole in her neighbour’s yard last week but they left without fixing the problem.

“They came here three times after we told them we have reported it to the newspaper but they have not done anything except make it worse.

“They left it open and now it is filled with water.

“The plumber from the municipality just said there was no broken pipe.”

Her backyard is covered with water containing green algae.

“It gets worse and we get scared when it rains. I have been begging the municipality to come and help us, but no one comes.

“My grandson developed a skin rash after he went to use the toilet outside because he had to walk through this dirty water.”

The family’s orange tree has died in the deluge.

“I have lived here for 50 years. We had an old tree here and it fell this year because of the water that has filled my yard,” she said.

Pawulos, whose house is situated at the source of the spring, said the situation was extremely stressful.

“The other residents used to insult me and say it was my pipe that was causing this mess,” he said.

Another neighbour, Julia Saliwa, complained about the bad odour the water caused.

“This water smells. These houses were built by the old government and there was no proper planning.

“No one thought there would be water coming out of the ground but now all we ask is for the municipality to assist us.

“This has also attracts frogs. It is bad.

“We have to mop our floor to get water out of our houses every day,” she said.

BCM spokeswoman Bathandwa Diamond said only: “Our water services unit has been on site to investigate the matter and found no internal leaks on the municipal system, either fresh water or sewage.”