A blocked drain caused serious problems for businesses in Ottery for a week before the matter was finally solved, but they remain wary of the same issue cropping up again.
Yi Zhang, manager of the Ottery China Town on Woodlands Road, said the drain at the back of the complex has been an issue for a few months and they are constantly having to get their hands dirty.
“Many times before, we had to personally go into the drain because the smell was just too unbearable and was driving customers away but we could never get to the main issue.
“In the last month, we tried to clean it about four times while the other businesses around us also made efforts to clean out the drain.”
The shopping centre manager added that besides the complex, other businesses affected by the drain included the Sasol petrol station on Old Ottery Road and the KFC restaurant.
“The City came out (yesterday) to unblock the drain but we are not sure that it has solved the issue long term. We have made multiple calls for them to come out and they only came out now after a week of constant calls, so hopefully this can now be a permanent solution.”
Zahid Badroodien, Mayco member for water and sanitation, confirmed that work had started on Monday and that the drain was unblocked by City services on Wednesday.
“The sewer drain was overflowing because it was blocked by foreign objects, mainly fat and rags that were found in the pipe.
“Generally the City clears sewers blocked by foreign items such as fats, litter, sanitary pads and materials that shouldn’t be in the sewer pipeline. Overflows will continue to happen, as long as sewers continue to be blocked by foreign items that should not be in the system.”