THE flooding problem at the Norkem Park pan is still unresolved because the metro failed to pay the engineer hired to do the job.
This was revealed by a representative from the Pubic Protector’s office at a recent community meeting at Mooifontein Primary School.
Senior investigator and regional manager for the Public Protector’s office, Piet Moloi, said the issue would have been solved already, had it not been for Ekurhuleni Municipality not paying the hired engineer, which delayed the process.
“The engineer’s contract finished at the end of July and a new service provider had to be hired, who started in September,” Moloi said.
The problem of properties being flooding will be resolved by putting in place a new permanent drainage system that can accommodate new residential developments around the vlei area.
This news will surely serve as a relief for the community, as the pan has been an ongoing problem for years now.
“We have been experiencing this issue for almost 10 years and have been complaining to the metro many times but nothing has been done yet. They (metro) have come before to do some inspections and left, saying the problem was merely a leaking pipe from someone’s yard,” a resident, who attended the meeting, said.
“The municipality has also in the past dug a trench on the pavement and installed drainage pipes, which didn’t solve the problem. We are tired of living like this. This issue has seen many residents, including myself, paying lots of money to try fix something that was not even caused by us. My insurance company didn’t pay out for the problem because their assessor that came out to inspect said the issue was with the vlei.”
The problem lies with the development that took place in the form of the town houses built around the pan. No storm water systems were put in place after the construction of the new homes, which led to the existing system being overworked and insufficient to handle the amount of construction around it.
Storm water pipes are overburdened and fail to get rid of the rain water, which gets worse during the rainy season.
According to Clr Allan Sauls, this problem has affected seven properties.
“One of the residents who has been most affected by this problem constantly has water in her yard. During the rainy season, the water literally reaches all the way up to her back door. There is also the issue of the electricity pylons now being submerged in about two meters of water, which poses a great danger for the surrounding community,” Sauls said at the meeting.
Moloi assured residents that a conciliation meeting between the metro and the service provider would be held to finally resolve the water pan issue. The office hopes to have the meeting by the end of November.
