WATCH: A look at Boksburg Lake water rehabilitation project progress
The tight budgetary constraint is likely to stall the last phase of the project. However, the city is adamant that the cordoned-off section of the facility will be open to the public by the end of September.
The long-awaited water quality improvement project, which forms part of the multimillion-rand multiphase refurbishment projects, started in earnest in October 2021. Its three phases will be completed at a cost of about R34m.
Despite suffering delays, apparently due to an alleged slight hiccup in the contractual obligations and the wet weather of summer; the project had for the past months been making steady progress, and its second phase is now nearing completion.
The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) initiated the project to tackle the foul odour emanating from the lake following decades-long pollution. The project comprises constructing a weir system across the lake, base gabions, installing dam aerators, creating artificial floating wetlands, a pedestrian bridge above the berm, and planting more indigenous trees.
The Boksburg Advertiser revisited the site on July 25 to inspect progress made on the project to breathe life into the lake water. We found the completed works so far include the construction of a weir, bridge, gabions, and litter traps.
According to the city, the floating wetlands will be launched in September because the plants need warm and wet conditions for proper establishment.
However, the remaining phase three, which entails a debris diversion structure, installing the aeration system and further clearance, is on hold until the city allocated a budget.
CoE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said the completion date for the remaining phase could not be determined before the budget is available and contractual issues finalised with a clear programme of work.
Responding to our question about reopening the cordoned-off sections of the public facility, Dlamini said, “The community can utilise the facilities with the outstanding works. The city is in the process of planning for the reopening of the facility by the end of September 2023.
The multimillion-rand project to clean the water previously suffered lengthy delays due to an alleged slight hiccup in the contractual obligations and the wet summer weather that caused high water levels that made working in the water challenging. However, despite these delays, the city maintained they made a significant effort on-site to remedy the situation.
The city also promised to launch a parallel operation where teams would crack down on upstream heavy industries, SMEs, and individuals poisoning the lake water with contaminates.
Upgrade
In response to concerns over the then run-down state of the facility, the city has, for almost a decade, commissioned contractors to carry out multi-phased refurbishment projects. This has seen the city pumping over R20m into the previous phased work to bring the park back to its former glory.
These include refurbishing the boat house at a cost of about R4m, followed by an R2.1m project in 2015 which entailed the construction of an amphitheatre, braai facilities, installation of park furniture and landscaping. They spent a further estimated R6m on several recently completed phases.
With this all done, concerned residents pointed out that lackadaisical maintenance and lack of security to safeguard the property threatened to reverse the multimillion-rand work done to give the facility a facelift.
Others feared the lack of security at the facility would render the millions of rands spent on the projects fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The Boksburg Advertiser journalist also noticed that some sections of the newly installed pricey fencing were vandalised and some new gates are gone.
Dumpsite
The open spaces next to the Boksburg Lake on Market Street, in particular, have been turned into a dumpsite for household waste.
However, when this publication visited the site in July, municipal workers were hard at clearing the eyesores on the Market Street entrance of the facility. They were also dredging the lake shores near the weir system.
Tourist destination
Once a hot tourist destination, the lake had for many years left to become an environmental and public health crisis in Boksburg, according to concerned experts and local organisations, which had, for many years, called for government intervention.
Also Read: Sad state of affairs for Boksburg Lake
