After the heavy rains of January 18, Ward 19 Clr Bill Rundle, again questioned whether or not Edenvale could withstand another large storm.
His concerns stem from the lack of remediation work meant to be conducted on Edenvale’s stormwater servitudes by the City of Ekurhuleni.
The damage caused by Edenvale’s 2016 flood left many in awe and shocked at the level of destruction caused by water alone.
Also read: #Floods Gallery: Residents band together to clean up after devastating floods
The floods left a scar through the town, leaving damaged bridges, unstable embankments and collapsing gardens in its wake.
Despite the large-scale destruction, remediation work, proposed by the CoE, did not start.
Even after countless emails sent by the NEWS to the CoE requesting comment, very few answers were provided.
Rundle said since the 2016 flood the damaged servitudes, and bridges have deteriorated further.
“Repair work was meant to start last April, money had been put aside by the CoE but nothing commenced as a water-use licence had not been granted.”
“Studies were conducted but it appears that not a cent was spent on repairs.”
Rundle said the recent storm was the fourth large storm to hit Edenvale in recent weeks.
Approximately 30ml of water fell that evening.
Also read: #Floods – Lack of maintenance has lead to a costly disaster
Although much of the water was contained in the servitudes, water flowed freely over Sixth Avenue Bridge.
“If another rainstorm occurs and 40ml of rain or more falls, the town could expect a repeat of 2016.”
Despite his concerns, Rundle is hopeful that remediation work will start at the start of the dry season in April this year.
A request for comment was sent to the CoE on January 24 requesting comment by 2pm on January 25.
At the time of going to print, no comment was received.
