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Kudzai Chikiwa, Chronicle Reporter
BULAWAYO residents have complained about sewer pipe bursts, some of which have gone for up to three months without being attended to.

Some burst pipes are spewing effluent into houses and residents fear they will soon spark a disease outbreak, especially in the wake of a typhoid outbreak that has killed eight people in Gweru.

The Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association posted on its official twitter account that residents have asked the city council to attend to sewer bursts at “Old Emganwini Road, Off Plumtree Road – near the railway line on the left hand side of Advocate Nare’s property and Goderich in Nketa 7 opposite the Musarurwa shopping complex.’’

In separate interviews, residents from Harrisvale, Old Emganwini and Goderich houses in Nketa 7 said they feared contracting typhoid as the sewer bursts expose them to water borne diseases.

A disgruntled resident from Harrisvale, Mr Aiden Tichareva said their problem started sometime in May when a city council earthmover damaged a sewer pipe.

“We hear reports of deaths in Gweru and we are now afraid that we will be the next victims. Today l saw an article on the fears of typhoid in Bulawayo so the city council must act as soon as yesterday,’’ said Mr Tichareva.

Another Harrisvale resident, Mrs Sikhangele Mzizi said she is worried that raw sewage is flowing along the path to Trenance Primary School and children play near it.

“You know children by nature will play with water and mud. Our kids will get sick and we cannot afford losing them just because the council is reluctant to address our crisis,’’ she said.

Mr Hamilton Ngwenya from Emganwini suburb said: “Flies are breeding here and every second germs multiply, this is a threat to our health and soon you will hear of typhoid deaths in our suburb.’’

Bulawayo United Residents’ Association chairperson Mr Winos Dube said:

“Gweru is battling a serious typhoid outbreak and we don’t want a similar outbreak in Bulawayo. Residents’ health is at stake and we hope the city council will address the matter as soon as possible.”

He urged residents to report sewer bursts to his association so that it can take it up with council officials.

Bulawayo City Council public relations officer Ms Bongiwe Ngwenya said the local authority has not received reports of raw sewage flowing in residential areas.

She urged residents to report such faults to the council so that they get fixed.

“The City of Bulawayo records as at 28 August 2018 do not have any report of a sewer blockage in the Harrisvale area. The residents are requested to report service faults so that we investigate and attend to the fault,’’ said Ms Ngwenya.

“The City of Bulawayo Service Level Standard for attending to sewer blockages is eight hours for critical sewer reports and 24 hours for any other blockage. However, due to staff shortages and resources we have been failing to adhere to the standard although we try our best to attend to all reports within the shortest time possible. We do not have sewers that go unattended for periods of up to  three months. We also prioritise areas with high concentration such as schools, shopping centres, Central Business District among others.’’

@tamary98