KNYSNA NEWS - A resident of Woodcock in the Concordia area says she has been battling a blocked drain and suspected sewage pump failure next to her home for nearly two years - while repeated pleas to the municipality appear to have led nowhere.

Agnes Leen, who lives at C447 in Concordia, says the situation has become unbearable for her family and nearby residents, with a persistent sewage stench making daily life almost impossible.

Despite numerous complaints lodged through community activist Collin Williams and resident Leah Visser, the problem remains unresolved.

WhatsApp correspondence between residents, municipal officials and ward councillors, seen by the Knysna-Plett Herald, suggests the matter has been circulating within the municipal system for months - with explanations, promises and referrals, but little visible action on the ground.

"We have been struggling with this blocked drain next to my house for two years," Leen wrote in one message. "It has been reported many times but nothing happens. We cannot breathe, the children cannot play outside, we cannot open the windows and we cannot even use our backyard."

According to residents, the blocked drain causes a strong and constant smell and raises serious hygiene concerns for those living nearby, including an elderly resident in his seventies and young children.

Malfunctioning pump

Messages exchanged between officials appear to confirm that the problem may be linked to a malfunctioning pump at a nearby pump station.

One message acknowledged that the issue lies "at a management level" and referred to ongoing problems with pumps at the station, while another noted that the drain could not simply be cleared unless the blockage further down the line was first opened.

Residents say municipal workers visited the site once - on 4 October 2025 - but never returned.

"They came with the small truck once and never again," one message reads. "The excuse was that the big truck cannot reach the area."

Another resident complained that explanations have been repeated for months while the situation remains unchanged.

"They keep giving reasons just to cover themselves, but the problem is still there," the message states.

Planning for repairs under way

In December last year, a municipal official indicated that a purchase order had been received for a new pump and that planning for repairs to the pump station was under way. However, no time frame was given for when the work would actually take place.

Technical feedback from a pump maintenance team suggested the station's sump still needed to be cleaned before a new pump could be installed and that the control panel had yet to be fitted. In the meantime, vacuum tankers were expected to keep the sump levels down.

For residents living next to the blocked drain, those explanations offer little comfort.

"Please help with the drain at C447," one plea reads. "The family cannot live like this. They cannot breathe and the smell is terrible."

With the problem still unresolved after nearly two years, residents say they are losing patience and are demanding urgent intervention from the Knysna Municipality.

At the time of publication, the municipality had not provided a clear timeline for when the drain will be cleared and the pump station fully repaired.

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