Durban - More than a year on, Jack Barth is still not getting answers from eThekwini Municpality on the flow of sewage into and around his Morningside home.
Barth has compiled a report on every phone call to the municipality since his house was flooded with sewage in January last year.
“It is difficult and has become so costly because we have to hire help to clean up and we use 20 litres of chemicals at a time to get rid of the germs and smell,” he said.
He also created diversions to feed into the sewerage system on his neighbour's property, but the stench remains.
The family has compiled a detailed report, now 28 pages long, of all their records since last year.
The problem is causing a rift with his neighbours because they asked him to reverse the diversion due to the smell and residue in their yard. This will be another costly affair for the Barths.
The Independent on Saturday has remained in contact with the municipality and was told this month, via a WhatsApp report line, that the case had been marked done and closed because the issue was resolved. The newspaper revisited the Barth family on March 1 to report on the claimed resolution, which had not been carried out. Barth reported the problem again and a new reference number was issued.
"I wonder why they marked the case closed even after digging a 5m hole and could not find the solution, and why they didn’t contact us as the owners all this time," said Barth.
On March 3, city spokesperson Msawake Mayisela contacted the Independent on Saturday asking for Barth's address, and said he would visit the family with an inspector to assess the situation. Hours later, when the Independent followed up to ask what he had found, he said he was in a meeting and would send inspectors instead.
At the time of publishing, they had not visited the family, while renewed requests for an update received no response.
The Independent on Saturday