Clifton sinkhole growing by the day

Lyttelton residents in Clifton Avenue have been watching a disaster slowly unfold in the front yards of two of their neighbours as a sinkhole has grown to where it has now engulfed at least two buildings.

This started on September 13 last year when the earth fell in.

“Unfortunately, people forget very quickly. We have always been aware of sinkholes in this area.

“We have always known that you need to not let water pool in your yard. It has only been in the past couple of years where, because of the lack of maintenance of infrastructure, we see all this happening,” said a Clifton Street resident.

Elvis Mathaba said that the sinkhole has been 18 months in the making.

In mid-November 2022, Mathaba was asked to make alternative living arrangements when his home was endangered by the sinkhole. He told Rekord the situation was “very bad”.

“What makes it even worse is that the criminals are beginning to strip this house. The municipality doesn’t provide any protection for the property.”

He said his house had been stripped of taps, cladding wiring and light fittings.

“If they could get the pipes out of the walls, those would be gone too,” he said.

Mathaba’s neighbour, the Nxusani family home was also robbed of fixtures and fittings.

According to the families close to the sinkhole, the problem first arose when a water leak in the area led to a “dimple” developing in their front yard.

At first, the dimple seemed stable, with a barricade erected at the site to redirect cars around the hazard.

“For just over a week, water leaked and bubbled out of the ground before the city finally came to look, and repair the leak.

“About two or three weeks after that, we noticed the ‘dimple’ in the ground,” explained Mathaba.

“They put these yellow barriers around and for about two years it stayed this way.”

The residents said that they first noticed a dip in water pressure from their taps in November last year.

“We went out to see what was happening, and saw a gathering of people around a small sinkhole about as large as a dinner table.”

Rekord reported at the time that experts were sent to the scene, and the Mathaba and Nxusani families were issued with mandatory eviction notices.

“After the initial small hole in mid-November, we had a lot of rain. Water poured into the hole and it gradually became bigger. Then a water pipe burst and the hole was flooded from the leaking water for a whole day before it was fixed.”

“Then the sewerage pipe broke and rushed into the hole for about two weeks before the sewerage was diverted using above-ground pipes.”

At this time, cars were still driving around the sinkhole across the veld, as it had just extended over the road.

At the beginning of 2023, once the sewerage had been fixed and the heavy rains stopped, residents noticed cracks around the pylons and the progression of the sinkhole had uncovered a large high-pressure water supply pipe.

“I am concerned about the pylon because then we have an even bigger power problem.”

Councillor David Farquharson said that the metro was aware of the sinkhole. He said that he had put in a request to prioritise the rehabilitation of the sinkhole.

Farquharson said that the uncovered water pipe was a Rand Water supply line that runs through Denel from the Waterkloof/Sterrewag reservoirs.

“The City is getting submissions on the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) that will direct funds in the next financial year. This is what I have asked for to fix the sinkhole.

“At this stage of the financial year, there is a minimal budget for repairs.”

In response to Rekord’s enquiries, economist Dawie Roodt said prioritising seems to always be the biggest problem for city councils.

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