The leak on 16th Ave
"I believe Sixteenth Avenue was built through a clay wetland and the road's construction stopped the natural flow of the water."
The water leak on Sixteenth Avenue has been a continuous issue or a number of years.
Clr Heather Hart of ward 18 said there have been a number of issues which contributed to the current water issue along the street.
The most recent of the water-related problems took place a year ago when a leak occurred on the pavement of number 50 Sixteenth Avenue.
In order to repair the pipe, Clr Hart said the department of water dug a hole and inserted a wooden plug into the pipe to stop the leak.
“This is when they found a steel water pipe that has a leak, ” said Clr Hart.
Clr Hart said the hole which was dug has since filled with water and has become an eyesore.
The leak, according to Clr Hart, was in the same place where a Eucalyptus tree was removed eight years ago.
She said the tree was growing towards power lines and the roots were causing problems for the water pipe. It was removed by council.
Clr Hart said another reason for the water leaking onto the road is the damaging of the french drain system that was installed eight years ago to deal with an earlier leak.
The french drain system was put in place to collect ground water.
She also added that the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) had tested the water and found that the water was groundwater.
“The water on Sixteenth Avenue was tested and no traces of chlorine were found in the sample,” said Mr Themba Gadebe, the spokesperson and senior media manager of the EMM
He said a visual inspection will be performed to monitor the condition of the water pipeline.
“The pipeline will be re-exposed where it was last repaired and if it is found that the municipal line is leaking, the municipality will be liable for the water loss,” said Mr Gadebe.
He said if it were to be the leak of the property owner, the water meter on the property should have reflected the leak on the municipal account.
“I believe Sixteenth Avenue was built through a clay wetland and the road’s construction stopped the natural flow of the water,” said Clr Hart.
Clr Hart believes that because of the moist ground, the close proximity of groundwater to the surface and the leak of the council pipe, water is flowing down the road towards the stormwater drain
