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Gibson Mhaka
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC)’s failure to address burst sewer pipes has apparently reached a new low, by not only exposing residents to diseases like cholera and typhoid but also disrupting the solemn goodbyes of mourners.
This comes after a local Councillor reported witnessing a harrowing situation of sewage flowing into the kitchen during a funeral wake. Despite being reported, the local authority took days to respond.
According to the latest council minutes, Ward 26 Clr Mpumelelo Moyo witnessed a disgusting stench of sewage, which added a new layer of distress to the grieving process.
“Discussion ensued and Councillor M T Moyo applauded the department for the work being done on sewer bursts despite challenges being encountered.
However, he raised concern about the delays to attend to some reported bursts. He indicated that effective communication was necessary from council in updating residents on the outcome of their reports.
He had witnessed a situation where during a funeral wake, sewer was flowing into the kitchen and had been reported and the council took days to respond.
Such critical issues should be dealt with urgently,” partly read the minutes.
Clr Moyo encouraged the department to establish a database of all sewage hotspots, develop a programme for addressing sewer issues, acquire the necessary resources and conduct regular monitoring of the hotspots. The recommended monitoring frequency is weekly or fortnightly.
Ward 29 Clr Rowen Sekete, who is also chairman of the Water and Sanitation Committee highlighted that sewer and water took priority, demanding urgent attention for all reports.
He argued that the lack of vehicles shouldn’t be an impediment, as council vehicles were observed operating regularly. He further noted the availability of spare parts in the market for the specific vehicles used by the council.
Ward 14 Clr Dumisani Netha reported that he had recently accompanied engineers on a tour of sewage hotspots to assess the challenges. He concluded that the extensive work required necessitates contracting the work out to qualified professionals.
Ward 1 Clr Josiah Mutangi requested clarification on the council’s response to reports of sewer bursts submitted by councillors.
He also inquired whether the council lacked qualified professionals to address sewage challenges.
Ward 20 Clr Sandra Sibindi pointed out that sewer bursts frequently occur in known areas soon after water restoration.
To ensure a swift response, she recommended establishing standby teams to monitor these areas and address any bursts as they happen.
In response the Director of Water and Sanitation highlighted that all sewer hot spots had been mapped.
“Council was in the process of engaging contractors with different expertise who had engineers to recommend best solutions to the sewer challenges.
Council had its own competent engineers but the scope of work and scale of problems were beyond the available manpower.
Council could not do it alone. Cash flow challenges affected contracts. He indicated that a sewer team of plumbers were available and moved around to attend to bursts.
“Each zone had a team of plumbers. In critical situations, different plumbers were placed to complement zone teams.
Such plumbers would struggle and take time to locate areas as they were not well versed with the sites/areas,” further read the minutes.
Bulawayo’s sewer and reticulation infrastructure suffers from sewer pipe bursts and leaks having outlived its lifespan.
Online Reporter