Len Rutter Park: Faulty sewage line replaced
Johannesburg Water has eventually attended to a broken pipe that caused raw sewage to run through Len Rutter Park.
A long-running sewage spill, which severely affected the stream running through Len Rutter Park, was attended to by Johannesburg Water (JW) on Wednesday, August 20.
The Roodepoort Record previously reported on the spill, which originated from the Unisa Surveying Area in Discovery, where the entity had just over a year ago conducted extensive works on the system to address the frequent sewage spills occurring here.
Residents in the area reported that Len Rutter Park was severely affected, with the pervasive odour of sewage ruining many a Saturday parkrun and even the Sunday train rides at the Rand Society of Model Engineers.
The water quality in the stream has also been visibly deteriorating over the past three months.
The Record has received numerous complaints regarding the sewage in the stream and the foul smell hanging over Len Rutter Park in recent months.
During a recent visit to the site with Ward 70 councillor Caleb Finn, the site could not be accessed due to overgrowth.
Finn said that JW, despite having been furnished with the correct contact details of the relevant person at Unisa, claimed that they were unable to access the site, which is kept locked to avoid vagrants taking up occupation in the open space.
The Record sent questions regarding the sewage spill to JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala, who acknowledges that the entity first became aware of the problem in 2024.
“It was initially treated as a blockage caused by stones and rocks. However, due to the persistence of the problem, a camera inspection was conducted, revealing a broken pipe.
“In line with standard procedure, a full six-metre section of the sewer pipe was replaced,” she says.
Shabalala adds that the latest problem stems from damage which was caused during the backfilling process after the initial replacement of the pipe.
“Our teams discovered that a pipe was damaged during backfilling, which initially went unnoticed.
“When we were alerted to the damage, the sewer line was again replaced.”
Shabalala did not answer questions about the entity’s slow response and lack of communication with residents and affected parties.
