Clock ticking on repair to stormwater pipe running under Weltevreden Park complex
Heavy rains create a pooling of water in multiple complexes which have already cost residents substantial losses.
A seasonal drop in rainfall has brought a reprieve but residents are urgently needing to have a problem resolved before the rain returns.
In the nine months since officials were made aware, lounges have flooded, yards turned into temporary swamps and boundary walls have buckled under the weight of pooled water. The blockage of a stormwater pipe that runs under the Atlantis sectional title development on Albert Street was first reported in November 2022 and the destructive rains a month later brought down walls in the complexes that border Atlantis in Adamson Crescent.
The blockage is near the upper boundary of Atlantis and does not affect units in the lower half. The joints of the old pipe are brittle, with household debris pushing itself through the gaps. Building manager Rayne van Zyl recalls how rains this year have seen water shooting out almost waist-high due to the pressure. Holes in backyards have developed, makeshift drains have been dug and small sandbanks needed to be built to divert water away from living areas.
Despite running under residential properties, the responsibility falls on Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to rectify the matter.
“Stormwater falls under JRA, so it is always their responsibility. The JRA’s core competencies are the planning, design, construction, operation, control, rehabilitation, and maintenance of the roads and stormwater infrastructure,” explained Ward 89 councillor Leah Knott, adding JRA’s main responsibilities included the construction and maintenance of bridges, culverts, traffic signals, traffic signal systems, footways, road signage and road markings.
Van Zyl said the entity sent a camera up the pipe at the beginning of the year and it was established that a jetting and vacuum tanker (jet vac) was needed to unblock the drain. Unfortunately, the tight corridors and yards of the complex prevented the jet vac from accessing the site. The following communications stated that arrangements would be made with the neighbouring complexes to park the jet vac alongside the wall to access the pipe which is just a meter inside the Atlantis boundary.
Several months have passed since with Van Zyl and other residents getting more anxious as the months pass. Knott again requested information in June but by July 7 she had not seen any officials in the complex nor near the pipe. JRA was requested on July 10 via email for a timeline on when the pipe may be unblocked but as of publication, no feedback had yet been received.
