No money on Adjustment Budget for reservoir repair

A crack discovered in November 2024 in the main Lynnwood reservoir that delivers water to the surrounding neighbourhoods of Alphen Park, Menlo Park and Lynnwood will now only be repaired in a three year cycle, according to the metro’s budget provisions for water infrastructure.

Councillor Siobhan Muller said to Rekord this makes no sense as promises were made by the metro that it would be fixed according to an emergency repair programme.

“The metro is shifting the goalposts around the repair of the reservoir all the time,” said Muller.

She was informed in November by residents in the area of The Koppie Reservoir that water had been streaming for days on end from a crack in the surface of the Lynnwood-reservoir.

Residents from a neighbouring apartment block overlooking the reservoir made her aware of the wasted water.

The area consists of one main reservoir and two sub-reservoirs.

Since November 2024, Muller has been working to bring the attention of the metro to this crack in the main reservoir.

In December, the metro informed her that money could be obtained from an emergency budget to repair the crack.

However, due to the December holidays and construction holidays, the metro indicated repairs would only begin in January 2025.

To solve the problem, the metro temporarily lowered the water level in the main reservoir to prevent further leaks.

Water was releayed from the main reservoir to sub-reservoirs to ensure neighbourhoods have access to water.

The main reservoir’s water has been kept at 60% capacity to prevent it from reaching a certain level on the reservoir’s wall thus preventing the water from leaking.

In January, Muller inquired about the repair progress and was informed that the metro was waiting for approval of the Adjustment Budget, which occurred on February 27.

Despite this, it was revealed that no funds had been allocated for the repair of the main reservoir on the Adjustment Budget, as the repairs to the reservoir was now considered to be part of a three-year budget cycle instead of the emergency repair and maintenance budget.

She fears that with a drought or any other infrastructure problems such as outages in the area because of cable theft, residents might be left without water as the water in the main reservoir has to be pumped to the lower reservoirs.

The two substations delivering electricity to the reservoir as well as the cellphone tower next to the reservoir are not within the boundaries of the protected area and is open to the road.

Muller is also concerned about what she considers to be an inordinate amount of security at the Lynnwood-reservoir.

During a visit to the Lynnwood reservoir, Rekord found security lapses despite three guards and their two supervisors of a private security company being present on the reservoir terrain.

Entrance gates were left open, and the fence was broken, allowing easy access.

Miller criticised the metro for misallocating funds to what she found to be excessive security services while neglecting critical infrastructure needs.

– Comment was asked from the metro but none has been received at the time of publication.

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