MUNICIPAL DYSFUNCTION: Community members clean up sewage spill at old age home after City inaction
Longstanding maintenance failures left an old age home in Westdene awash with raw sewage as Johannesburg’s water and housing departments delayed responding, prompting a community‑led cleanup to protect residents.
Residents in Westdene, Johannesburg, organized a cleanup after raw sewage leaked from an old-age home due to the City's inaction. A blocked pipe caused the sewage spillage, which persisted despite multiple attempts by community members to reach out to Johannesburg Water. The City's Housing Department managed the facility, requiring a work order before Johannesburg Water could address the issue.
Community members, including Clint Hill and Brian Smith, pressed the Water Department to act, with over 30 residents initially reporting the problem. Private plumbers also assisted the residents in clearing the blockage.
The spill spread beyond the old-age home, contaminating stormwater drains and raising fears of downstream contamination into public spaces and water bodies like the Emmarentia Dam and Botanical Gardens. The community members requested Johannesburg Water to clean and disinfect the affected grounds, but were told the waste would dry before crews returned. The Department of Health was also contacted, but officials stated they would only assist once the sewage dried.
In the absence of an immediate cleanup, the residents took matters into their own hands, using pressure washers and Jeyes Fluid to clean areas where residents walked. The incident has since been resolved, with the Gauteng Department of Health arriving on Saturday to help, though most of the cleanup had already been done by the community. The sewage spill is not an isolated issue, as residents claim the old-age home has faced years of neglected infrastructure failures.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
