Officials investigate flooding cause
Ms Lee Cahill, a resident, said there was always a capacity problem with the open section of the drain which runs between Duthie and Hannibal streets.
Officials are investigating how approval was granted for the construction of a driveway believed to be contributing to flooding in Kensington.
This comes after the latest flooding incident which affected residents in Hannibal Street.
The EXPRESS previously reported that problems related to storm water drainage led to flooding and damages in the area.
Ms Lee Cahill, a resident, said there was always a capacity problem with the open section of the drain which runs between Duthie and Hannibal streets. However, the problem worsened a few years ago when the city apparently gave a property owner permission to build a driveway access over an important secondary drain in Hannibal Street.
She believes this was done in contravention of the storm water bylaws.
Since the driveway was built, residents have suffered major floods.
Although the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) did make some alterations to the open section of the drain, Ms Cahill suggested an engineer assess the situation to come up with a permanent solution.
Mr Sam Modiba, from the JRA said, “The JRA is aware of the flooding in Hannibal and Duthie streets. A team was established to deal with the situation and to clear the debris that had accumulated at the open channel which runs in the servitude between properties in Hannibal Street. No blockages were discovered.
“The flooding is caused by the volume of water that runs from the open channel and cannot go into the culvert that runs under the road. It then overflows across the road. A kerb inlet that could accommodate the overflow has unfortunately been replaced by a vehicle bridge into one of the properties. The JRA is investigating as to how the approval was granted for construction of the vehicle bridge and appropriate remedial measures will be implemented based the findings.
“It is regrettable the Kensington community has been inconvenienced during this flooding period.”
Members of the community are encouraged to report theft and vandalism of the city’s assets to the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) or SAPS. Report all road service defects to the city’s call centre on 0860 56 28 74.
