Residents angered by the hole left open after the City fixed a burst pipe

Since the end of November last year, a hole in Geneva Road near Eileen Road in Blairgowrie has been left open after Joburg Water repaired the burst pipe in the area.

The hole has started to crack the tar with water running out since the middle of November. “Joburg Water comes, digs a deeper hole, closes some pipes, but don’t solve the problem. The road will collapse and it is a dangerous situation,” said one of the residents Irmela Reif.

The City’s entity has placed yellow barriers next to the hole. Reif said she reported the matter to the City and gets reference numbers but the problem is yet to be solved.
Ward 99 councillor Nicole Van Dyk said quite often when Joburg Water (JW) dug up a road or concrete pavement to fix a burst, the hole that they left behind can still be wet.

She said until the hole has dried, there is very little that can be done. “However, Joburg Water should be putting tape and cones around the area to warn motorists of the danger ahead.”
According to her, if the burst happens on a pavement that is grass, JW must, once the work is complete, backfill the hole. “If either of these actions are not taken, residents should email their local depot and log the fault. If after that still nothing is done, it can be escalated to the local ward councillor.”

She added that the biggest issue was that Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) and JW work on separate systems, however, they can still generate work orders between them.
Van Dyk said it seems not to be happening at the moment and the new executive in the City was looking at solutions.
She encouraged residents to log the issue with the JRA through hotline@jra.org.za and with JW through customer@jwater.co.za and if the problems are not solved, they can subsequently email her with reference numbers.

Blairgowrie is one of the suburbs in the City that has been experiencing constant burst pipes. “Sadly, it has not only been lately, but for at least the last five years that Blairgowrie has suffered water issues, especially in the streets of Sue Avenue, Barkston Drive and Mackay Avenue, to name a few,” she said.

Van Dyk said she has actively engaged Joburg Water regarding the burst pipe as they seemed to be occurring more often with more people working from home. “Joburg Water has acknowledged that Blairgowrie is in need of a full overhaul, however, with a R200-billion backlog in infrastructure in the City of Joburg, it needs to be done piece by piece.”
JW spokesperson Eleanor Mavimbela said the pipe on Geneva Road was repaired last year but they had a recurring burst pipe earlier this month. “Backfilling will be done by JW and tar reinstatement will be referred to JRA,” she said.

She said they do refer some of the reinstatements to JRA, especially tar, kerbs and storm water. “When we attended to the burst pipe we then booked a follow-up for backfilling, but currently we have a lot of backfilling outstanding due to wet weather.”