Sewage pumphouses and electrical substations in Beacon Bay are soft targets for thieves and vandals.
Some of the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) infrastructure is not secure.
BCM ward councillor Marion Mackley said: “The reservoir has been a worry as the previous fence was barely there, having been stolen over some time. It has improved a lot now.”
The Beacon Bay water reservoir is fenced off and padlocked.
Beacon Bay Ratepayers Association Malcolm Symons chair said: “The infrastructure is old, more especially the Bonza Bay side, which is an older part of the suburb.
The station is meant for sewage offloading so it can make its way to the treatment works. The offloading area is a muddied mess, with a strong stench prevalent
“I think there is a general lack of experience needed to carry out the necessary work in the relevant field.”
The main Beacon Bay sewage pump station has no gate and a free-for-all entrance. The station itself is under padlock but the surrounding concrete palisade wall is crumbling.
“The station is meant for sewage offloading so it can make its way to the treatment works.
“The offloading area is a muddied mess, with a strong stench prevalent.
“Just less than 500m from there, is the Quenera pump station.
“It shows no signs of overflow, which when it does overflow, goes into the Quenera River that leads to Bonza Bay beach.” Symons said.
Mackley said residents in Quenera Drive and Fish Eagle Crescent had chipped in money together to put up a gate near the pump station, of which a portion has been stolen.
BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said the municipality was not aware of any particular sewage problems in Quinera, except normal operational blockages which have been dealt with.
We had a blocked outfall sewer from Beacon Bay to the Quinera wastewater treatment works that took longer to unblock early in the year due to blocking access to the outfall by illegal dumping of builders’ rubble
“We had a blocked outfall sewer from Beacon Bay to the Quinera wastewater treatment works that took longer to unblock early in the year due to blocking access to the outfall by illegal dumping of builders’ rubble,” he said.
More than five electrical substations are not fenced in the area.
Mackley said: “Of the different complaints that residents come in with, there has been a rise in water- or sewage-related complaints — a few per week.”
Regarding electrical substation safety, Ngwenya said: “Vandalism in the area has only increased in the last 18 months.
“The municipality has a programme of upgrading security for problematic areas, which will now include Beacon Bay. The area has been operating for many years without the need for protection.”
Recently the home of Tulisa Malotana in Beacon Bay was flooded when a BCM pump broke and a water pipe burst in front of the property.
Four of the family’s cars were almost submerged in the water and their furniture was soaked.
The Dispatch reported in May that the spills in Beacon Bay had reached a crisis point, with sewage from 22 faltering or broken municipal pump stations overflowing into the suburb.
At the time, Ngwenya said new sewerage infrastructure would be installed across the metro and that BCM had budgeted R320m in the current draft budget.
The council-approved budget is meant to kick in on July 1.
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