When will metro listen to our pleas and adhere to court orders? – asks Editor
The Eastleigh businesses which took legal action also provide jobs and yet they are being brought to their knees by the floods
By Marietta Lombard
Bedfordview and Edenvale News can predict the news.
Impossible, but true.
Just hours before the October 9 floods, the NEWS went to print with two articles focusing on communities’ fears and predictions of more floods this year.
Also read: November 9 floods exacerbated by blocked culvert – parliamentary inquiry finds
A month shy of the one-year anniversary of the November 9, 2016 floods, Edenvale roads, some properties and business premises were again flooded on October 9.
Last year Ekurhuleni metro’s response was that the November 9 flood was “estimated to be in the order of over one in 100-year intensity/recurrence interval”.
What is the excuse for October 9? I don’t care that the damage was not as severe as last year. We cannot control Mother Nature but surely by EMM ensuring the basics, we can lessen the impact?
I know first-hand from media inquiries sent to EMM that metro has been questioned and thus is aware of blocked stormwater drains leading to flash floods, the need to maintain stormwater channels through cleaning, clearing, erosion control, silt and litter traps.
Also read: MULTIMEDIA: Videos and Gallery from today’s #floods
By now, and especially after two High Court orders, metro is well aware of the High Court’s instructions to remediate the Eastleigh Spruit.
And surely metro realises that without sufficient attenuation dams, money spent on the spruit’s remediation will be fruitless?
Let me remind you about that court order which stated that metro must take “any and all steps necessary to rectify and rehabilitate the riverbed, river walls and any other measure necessary to prevent and mitigate any and all flooding to the properties”.
Let us also not forget that last year’s floods claimed the life of Caroline Sithole and her unborn child after she was trapped inside her car in Edenvale on November 9.
The Eastleigh businesses which took legal action also provide jobs and yet they are being brought to their knees by the floods, the impact of which can be lessened if metro simply addresses problems brought to its attention.
Also read: Flash #floods – What you need to know
Metro’s response following the first High Court order was described as disappointing.
However, it has become evident that we need detailed, clear, precise and immediate action to resolve our flood problems.
