A FOUL stench hangs in the air in Greenpoint, where resident Susan Tlapane says her family is living a nightmare caused by raw sewage flowing into the veld behind her house.

Standing in her backyard with her arms raised in frustration, Tlapane pointed toward the growing pool of sewage water seeping into the open land behind her home. She believes the problem started shortly after her neighbour moved into a newly constructed house next door.

“About a month or two after the house was built and they moved in, raw sewage started flowing into the veld behind me,” Tlapane told the DFA. “I don’t know why, but something is not right.”

When the DFA visited her home, the pungent smell of sewage was unmistakable - reaching noses even from the street.

In the neighbour’s yard, the newly built house stood visible, and while the external pipes from the toilet and washbasin appeared to be correctly connected to a sewage outlet, the actual destination of the wastewater raised serious concerns.

In the veld, sewage water bubbled up from underground, suggesting that a pipe could have been purposefully laid to direct the waste into the open area. While the exact plumbing set-up could not be confirmed, what was undeniable was that the sewage came from the house and was now contaminating the surrounding environment.

“Every day we have to sit with this smell,” Tlapane said. “We cannot even sit outside and enjoy a cup of coffee. As soon as the sun goes down, the mosquitoes come out in the thousands. Going to the toilet outside at night is impossible.”

The constant presence of mosquitoes has become more than just a nuisance. Tlapane said their family meals are regularly interrupted by insects falling into their food, and their young child is now struggling with respiratory issues due to the excessive use of insecticide sprays.

“We are spraying so much Doom to get the mosquitoes away, and now our little boy is struggling with his chest. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

She added that while Sol Plaatje Municipality has in the past responded promptly when their main sewage drain blocked, the current issue was unlike anything they had dealt with before.

“When our drain blocks, the municipality comes out, unblocks it, and the problem is solved for six months to a year. But this is something else entirely. This is a major health issue, and I’ve tried speaking to my neighbour about it, but I am getting no joy at all,” she said, visibly distressed.