R3,4m sewer project completed at Thornhill

BEFORE: Kouga Municipal Manager Sidney Fadi (pointing), members of the Mayoral Committee and management of the municipality conducted a site inspection in 2014 after being made aware of the health risk residents faced because of the sewer seepage.

BEFORE: The area looked like a swamp.

AFTER: Community Development Worker Mervin Aweries (left) and resident Gladys Scholtz thank Kouga Infrastructure Portfolio Councillor Patrick Kota (right) for bringing their sewerage nightmare to an end.

AFTER: The swamp between the houses at Thornhill is a thing of the past. Bertus Homveld of Phambili Civils, Community Development Worker Mervin Aweries, Willem Thiart and Willem Hofmeyr of Worley Parsons and Kouga Infrastructure Portfolio Councillor Patrick Kota visited the site to wrap up the sewer project.

THE recurring sewer nightmare of 87 households at Thornhill has been laid to rest.

Kouga Municipality has connected their RDP houses to the waterborne sewerage system at a cost of R3,4 million.

The project was completed and handed over to the municipality by contractor Phambili Civils and consulting engineers Worley Parsons in February.

Kouga Municipal Manager Sidney Fadi said the houses used to struggle with sewer seepage from the French drains that had been installed to dispose of effluent when the houses were built just more than 10 years ago.

“The soil has a high clay content, as a result, the drainage system didn’t work properly and sewerage would seep up through the ground,” he explained. “The affected areas ended up looking like swamps and we were concerned about the health risk this could pose.”

Resident Gladys Scholtz said there was also a massive legavaan that lived in the swamp area right by the houses.

“It was so big, we thought it was a crocodile. It was aggressive and we were really scared of it. We haven’t seen the legavaan since the work was completed and the swamp was cleared. It is a big relief for all of us not to have to worry about that legavaan or sewerage making our children ill.”

Willem Hofmeyr, of consulting engineers Worley Parsons, said the houses were now connected directly to the Thornhill Waste Water Treatment Works by a gravitational line running underneath the N2.

“We would like to congratulate and thank the municipality, Council and community for the manner in which this project was handled. Thanks to the incredible cooperation we had from everyone, we were able to complete the project on time and within budget,” he said.

Kouga Infrastructure Portfolio Councillor Patrick Kota said the completion of the project effectively ended the town’s reliance on septic tanks, French drains and suction tankers for sewerage disposal.

“It is going to have a huge impact on the community and truly improve their quality of life,” he said.