Kempton Park sewage works

[Martin Kellermann]

Sometimes photography takes us to queer places. Some time ago my friend who is a water scientist and I visited an abandoned sewage works of the Ekhuruleni (previously Kempton Park) city. It was a fascinating pace, not all that safe, but full of photography opportunities. I was happy to have an expert with me who could explain what all the structures are used for. The graffiti artists were there long before us  . Martin

[Peter Connan]

Martin, you are a braver man than me. I drive past this facility regularly, but have not been able to scrape up the courage to examine it on foot.

Do you live close by?

[Martin Kellermann]

Hi Peter,
Nice to meet a fellow SA NG member in cyber space. I used to live in Pretoria, I am now located in George. I would also not venture there on my own - I was with a friend that knew the facility in his professional capacity. Always the better option to be with company in these run-down places.
Kind regards, Martin

[Peter Connan]

Thanks for the reply Martin. Give me a shout if you ever come this way again?

[elsa hoffmann]

Martin - your sewerage works looks a tad different to our sewerage works in Cape Town... We dont have such lovely art. cool shots

[Jakov Minić]

Always nice to see graffiti, thanks.

[Akira]

Colorful but a bit spooky.  I wonder where the skeleton of a crummy (?) came from.  Did it accidentally fall into the sewage and drowned (when the sewage was still in operation) or starved (after it had been abandoned)?

[Martin Kellermann]

Akira,
The place is a bit spooky. All the closed structures and vessels had a gap blown by dynamite so that when you fall in you could get out. Some of these openings you can see in the images. The animal, I don't know what it was, probably a goat or a sheep, was most likely slaughtered, cooked and eaten by the vagrants that moved in soon after the facility was shut down. When we visited there was no sign of vagrants  - fortunately. Martin

[Akira]

Martin, thanks for the details of the place.  Blowing the structures by dynamite seems to be the appropriate way to keep the abandoned sewage from becoming a dangerously secret place.

[Peter Connan]

Not sure how long ago the photos were taken, but an open field close by is used regularly nowadays for religious ceremonies.

I am wondering whether the (goat?) was slaughtered in some form of ceremony? Having said that though, I don't know too much about it.

[Erik Lund]

First shot stand out for me, the iron reinforcement blending with the grass in the foreground is striking!