The George Sutter Park pond is finally being filled.
Last Tuesday saw the Selection Park fire department arrive and begin filling the pond with hoses connected to fire hydrants.
Kevin Gunzenhauser, from the Eastern Gauteng Chamber of Commerce and DA ward 78 councillor, Shadow Shabangu, arranged the initiative.
They were not alone in seeing the pond be filled.
Residents living in the area of the pond, working for Element Six, a synthetic diamond supermaterials company, contacted Kevin with regards to the problem in the hope of finding a temporary solution before the pond’s borehole pump is fixed.
Kevin said, “We have received numerous calls and complaints from residents about the state of the pond and the slow action metro has taken to solve the problem.
In addition, I have also called Customer Care Area Manager, Sakie Kekane, to deploy extra security to guard the hoses and pipes.”
This is only a temporary solution, until metro parks fixes the borehole pump, and it will take about a week for the pond to be filled.
Karel Pretorius, shift manager for the fire department says,”We thought it was good to take on the initiative, as I also stay around the area and have seen the state of the pond.”
The local Selpark Community Police Forum (CPF) will also monitor the park to ensure the hoses are not stolen, while the fire department will work in shifts to get the pond filled.
Clr Shabangu stressed that it is only a temporary solution.
The permanent one would be to replace the pump.
“Metro parks was suppose to sort this problem out four weeks ago, but the new pump was the incorrect size for the borehole.
The other problem was there were no parts to repair the old pump,” said Clr Shabangu.
The action initiated on the pond has been gradual, but slow.
Shabangu highlighted that even though the new pump has been purchased, they are still waiting on contractors to install the new pump, which was suppose to start on Monday.
This emergency filling of the pond has bought a little extra time for metro parks to resolve the problems at the pond.
Following up on Wednesday morning, Kevin was pleased at the progress they had made in filling the pond, despite receiving no response from the metro and Sakie Kekane to deploy security.
Kevin said, “The Selpark CPF has been fantastic about keeping guard over the piping used to fill the pond.
The fire department wanted to disconnect the hoses last night, but the CPF kept guard over the pipes the entire night.”
On Monday, August 12, the pond was finally filled until the borehole pump can be installed by metro parks to maintain the pond’s water level.
