Week of flooding in Pomona

RESIDENTS of Pomona ext 2 who live next to a river were burdened with flooding in their homes last week Tuesday due to the persistent rain.

“This happens every time it rains. Last week it wasn’t so bad because the rain was lighter, but now the heavy storms have flooded our homes,” said Elize van Eeden of Watsonia Street.

The family’s swimming pool was damaged a year ago when it was literally pushed out of the ground because of the flooding.

“We can’t afford to fix the pool, which has damage that amounts to R100 000. And the insurance refuses to pay out because we live close to a river, which is a wetland and therefore susceptible to water damage.”

The whole driveway at the Van Eedens home was flooded and they had to use a water pump to get as much water out as possible. They even needed a second pump to assist the one already installed in their yard.

The rains were so bad that their water draining system had been completely blocked.

Their neighbours are echoing the same sentiments.

“This problem has being going for longer than five years and nothing has been done by Ekurhuleni to sort it out, which causes damage to our building’s foundation and dampness,” said Maria Ferreira, also a Watsonia Street resident.

The flooding was so bad that a man who lives in the flat at the back of the house couldn’t go to work as his car was blocked by the water, which was thigh high, Janice Ferreira said.

The Ferreiras have new paving on their driveway which was damaged when they had to get the fire department out to help pump the water out.

Jonathan Lawton (24) lives right next to the river with his family and was the most affected, as the water had even swept into the house.

“We worked tirelessly the whole morning to drain the water. I have been calling the municipality since 6.20am this morning but they only arrived to help at around 10.30am,” Lawton said.

According to Lawton it was the second time his home flooded in the past two weeks.

“They gave us water pumps and left. We feel it is unfair that we pay the same rates as those people who aren’t affected by this issue,” Lawton says.

According to Lawton, they have been trying to get help from Ekurhuleni Municipality for the past two years, but with no success.

“I have sent numerous requests regarding this issue and have also suggested a solution to this continuous problem – widen the river and make it deeper so the rain has more space to fill up before it overflows like this.”

“Year in and year out we have this problem. I have a main drain system inside my premises which should be outside. It becomes a problem as well. We need Ekurhuleni to do something to sort out the infrastructure of storm water drainage in our area,” Maria said.

Ward councillor Pieter Henning said there was no temporary or short-term solution. A long-term solution in itself involves lengthy processes of acquiring permission from the municipality and possible tender procedures.

A site inspection will take place this week, he said.

“This is a difficult and complicated issue because the houses are situated in a dangerous position with the river right next to them.

“Another issue is that even if we can come up with an idea to fix the problem, getting permission to do so is a very lengthy process.

“Another thing I would like to remind people of is the fact that at the end of the day, it is the municipality’s job to fix the area, not councillors’. I promise to try my best to fix the issue, but there is only so much I can do,” Henning said.

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