Residents of Crossmoor in Chatsworth say they are at their wits’ end after enduring years of sewage overflow and stormwater blockages, but a recent site visit by municipal officials has brought renewed hope that the long-standing issue may finally be addressed.
The problem is centred around the park area behind houses 239 to 252 on High Terrace (Road 1124), where residents say damaged sewer and stormwater infrastructure has resulted in persistent overflows, stagnant water and unbearable odours. Despite years of complaints lodged with eThekwini Municipality, residents claim there has been little to no progress.
Long-time resident Stanley Reddy said he and others have repeatedly raised concerns with various municipal departments over the past three years.
“Judging from the response to the problem affecting this site, it is clear that there is no accountability and your officials are merely undertaking ‘joy-rides’ with municipal property and at the expense of the rate payer. This needs to be investigated,” Reddy wrote in one of his letters to authorities.
He stressed that urgent intervention is needed to address the deteriorating infrastructure.
“The matter requiring urgent attention is the problems relating to the sewer overflow and the damaged storm water pipes. The community has a constitutional right to human dignity and an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing,” he said.
Community activist Derrick Govender said residents have been forced to live with the stench on a daily basis.
“We battle with the smell every day. It is unbearable at times,” he said.
In a recent development, residents met with the Area Based Management (ABM) team and municipal officials during a site visit to assess the full extent of the problem. Reddy said the visit marked a shift in how the issue is being approached.
“I’m encouraged by the site visit. Unlike the past, where the municipality came out to address problems at individual manholes or sewer overflow pipes, they have now looked at the problem holistically,” he said.
He explained that previous attempts to fix isolated sections have failed to resolve the broader issue.
“The problem needs to be addressed in totality — from one end to the other — spanning over 700 metres and including more than seven or eight manholes. If that’s done, we won’t be having this problem in the park.”
Reddy added that, for the first time, officials appeared to recognise the scale of the issue affecting the entire area.
“I’m encouraged merely by the fact that officials have now become aware of the problem affecting the whole area rather than just one manhole. Hopefully, they will address it in its entirety,” he said.
Also present at the site visit was aspirant political candidate Ziyaad Ally, who echoed residents’ cautious optimism.
“I couldn’t necessarily say we are satisfied, but we are encouraged that things are moving in a positive direction,” Ally said.
He explained that officials and residents walked the length of the affected site during the inspection.
“There are about eight or nine individual issues that need to be attended to in order to resolve the problem completely. These fall under Stormwater, Parks and Gardens, and eThekwini Water and Sanitation.”
Ally said the lack of coordination between municipal departments has been a key obstacle.
“What’s been happening previously is that one department comes out to address one issue in isolation. That approach is not working. We need all three departments to work together and fix all the issues at once, once and for all.”
He added that the impact on the community extends beyond infrastructure failures, highlighting the loss of a once-thriving public space.
“This park used to be a place where children played. We want to see that again. We were even saying we’ll come back and look for evidence of the old swings — we want to find them, because this place must glow again,” he said.
In response to media enquiries, municipal spokesperson Luthando Ngubane said the matter is still under investigation.
“Please be advised that the City is still in the process of collating the necessary information from the relevant department. The matter is receiving attention, and a comprehensive response will be provided as soon as the information becomes available,” Ngubane said.
Residents say they remain cautiously hopeful that the latest intervention will lead to a lasting solution, as the ongoing sewage overflow continues to pose serious environmental and health risks to the community.
