For months, Ward 115 residents in Craigavon have been living next to a never-ending construction site, wondering if the Craigavon rising main sewer project will ever get off the ground.

Ward councillor Mark van der Merwe said residents can expect the project to continue for a little while longer, with approximately 331m of the 2.2km pipeline still to be replaced.

Van der Merwe said the project, which involves replacing the sewer rising main from Willow Avenue to the circle at Poplar and Campbell roads, and along Campbell and Inchanga roads to just beyond Mont Tremblant, has experienced delays due to funding constraints. “The project was interrupted twice due to non-payment because of budget constraints, and the contractor rightly ceased work. Once this was resolved, the contractor returned to work.”

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The outstanding section runs down Willow Avenue from the Poplar and Campbell roads intersection to the low point of Willow Avenue. In addition to the remaining pipeline installation, reinstatement work still needs to be completed. This includes repairing roads damaged during construction and restoring affected sidewalks. “City Parks has requested the contractor not to do the sidewalk reinstatement with grass and trees, but to rather delay that till October or November, when the rainy season starts again.”

The project was originally expected to be completed before the end of the City of Johannesburg’s 2025/26 financial year. Despite the delays, Van der Merwe said he is satisfied with the contractor’s performance. “The contractor is performing well, as and when they receive funding from Johannesburg Water. However, due to budget constraints the project has been delayed. Although understandable, this is unfortunately a result of the city’s financial crisis.”

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The sewer rising main replacement project was launched to address repeated failures of the ageing pipeline, which previously resulted in sewer overflows, blockages, and sewage pollution affecting the Klein Jukskei River and surrounding communities.

Johannesburg Water was contacted for an update on the project. The utility was asked to provide the current status of the sewer rising main replacement, explain the reasons for the delays beyond the initial completion timeline, confirm how much work remains outstanding, and to provide a revised completion date. The information they provide will be published as soon as it is received.

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