Residents at 99 Kathleen Street fear that a large tree on their sidewalk could fall over.

This is due to an ongoing water leak since January.

According to the resident, Shanti Mitchell, he first noticed water running down the side of the road upon his return from his December holiday.

“I didn’t think much of it at the time, as it didn’t appear as if the water was coming from my property,” he says.

“My neighbour called me a few days later and told me it appears the water is indeed flowing from my property. We undertook an inspection, and it appeared that the water was coming up from under the tree on the sidewalk.

“We immediately called Johannesburg Water (JW) and reported the problem, and received a reference number. Within a few days, I checked, and the call was closed and marked as resolved.

“I logged another call and eventually managed to get JW to come out. They dug up the whole sidewalk around the tree and concluded that an underground water pipe, damaged by the roots of the tree, should be replaced and redirected around the tree.

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“They said they would have to get Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo to safely remove the tree, as it may fall over due to the erosion caused by the leak, and left. That is the last we’ve heard from them.

“Since then, we’ve logged many calls, only for those calls to be closed and marked as resolved a few days later.

“I don’t understand how they can close a call on a job that has not been done.”

Mitchell is concerned that if the tree falls over into her yard, it will destroy her boundary wall and house.

“If it falls the other way, it poses a danger to traffic and pedestrians.”

Florida South Residents Association chairperson Rodney Churchyard says he has been assisting the Mitchells since January.

“I have a whole list of reference numbers and logged calls, all of which were closed shortly after being logged,” he says.

“I eventually exhausted my patience trying to deal with the Roodepoort Depot and got hold of the Region C manager, but we are still not getting satisfactory results.

“This water leak and the tree pose a very real danger and need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

The Roodepoort Record sent questions to JW and will include their reply, once received, in a follow-up article.