Recent rainstorms and downpours have again highlighted the need for improved maintenance and upkeep of Eastleigh Spruit.

The storms at the start of December caused the spruit to burst its banks again in certain sections, specifically where Edenvale’s low-lying bridges were located and where debris had accumulated.

Ward 19’s Ald Bill Rundle said the state of affairs are critical, and the municipality needs to step up before the situation gets worse and an emergency arises.

ALSO READ: Eastleigh Spruit to receive some attention

Rundle said he and Ald Eddie Taylor, who serves on the Ward 19 economic development and city planning portfolio committee, got together more than a year ago and unpacked all the issues related to the Eastleigh Spruit.

“I made him fully aware of the challenges of the spruit and sent him information going back 15 years.

He put in a lot of effort, arranged meetings with the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) senior officials, and convinced the DEMS risk assessment office to conduct an assessment of the spruit,” said Rundle.

Starting at the partially collapsed St Andrews Road Bridge, the tour continued to the overgrown Minuach attenuation dam.

ALSO READ: Businesses want answers on poor maintenance of Eastleigh Spruit and bridge

From there, the tour wound its way through Eastleigh to the bridges at the bottom of the Avenues and ended at the broken weir in Protea Park.

In many places, they highlighted the need for rehabilitation and repairs along the servitude and for clearing the vegetation.

“He finalised the assessment about eight months ago, but now the report is going from department to department, and we have been trying to get it from the CoE.”

Despite still waiting for the report, Rundle said, “The crux of the matter is that there is no preventive and infrastructure maintenance being done.”

At the Sixth Avenue bridge, which was flooded by recent rains, debris is blocking the channels. Among the debris are vegetation, litter, refuse, and tree stumps.

ALSO READ: Follow-up: Budget constraints limit maintenance for Eastleigh Spruit and bridge

“The force of water needed to move a tree trunk is unquantifiable, but it just goes to show how much water was flowing through the channel.

“The CoE is the custodian of the waterways in its regions in terms of maintenance and upkeep. This means the city received a mandate from the National Water Department for the upkeep of the waterways, but it does not appear they are fulfilling it,” said Rundle.