Sad state of affairs for Boksburg Lake

Despite the millions pumped into a rehabilitation project and despite the fact that the Boksburg Civic Centre overlooks this once bustling and popular green space, Boksburg Lake has again been allowed to slip into a cesspool of poor maintenance.

Following the recently completed multi-million phase project to restore the recreational facilities of the property, the Boksburg Advertiser visited the area on November 28.
We found that vandals or thieves and poor maintenance are jeopardising the work already done.

The upgraded facilities are being choked by long grass, vegetation and overgrown trees and are littered with trash.
The new equipment, including waterpipes, taps and sections of the fence (the gates), have been stolen or vandalised, some already rusted and broken.
Several sections of the area have become dumping sites for household waste and rubble and visitors are greeted by the sight of dead fish and a smell of toxic fumes emanating from the polluted water.

With the recent heavy rains, the newly constructed weir system across the lake seems to have delivered the desired results of trapping and capturing litter, silt, debris, trees and general waste to limit these from entering the main body of the lake.
However, most of the water tunnels under the weir system are almost completely clogged, preventing the flow of water through the filter and threatening the structure.

This has also resulted in a sea of waste from the holding area finding its way into the main body of the lake.
The metro initially told the Advertiser that these captured items would be physically removed by the maintenance teams, but it remains to be seen when this will happen.
The municipality has been approached for comment on these issues, and its comment will be added once received.

Wasteful and fruitless expenditure
In a recent interview on the state of the lake and other public spaces in Ward 32, the area’s ward Clr Marius de Vos lambasted the parks department for its lackadaisical maintenance of the facilities.
He also pointed out that spending millions of rands on the refurbishment of public facilities that would then be left at the mercy of vandals (not safeguarded) amounts to wasteful and fruitless expenditure.

Residents who used to frequently visit the park with their friends and families consistently criticised the metro for the years of neglect – which they said have scared them away from the once-bustling public lake. They also cited safety as another reason for avoiding the area.
Others even said, the park which is left to become home to the homeless and some addicts, holds a lot of memories for them and it’s sad seeing it in this condition.

Upgrade
In response to residents’ concerns over the then run-down state of the facility, the metro had about eight years ago initiated the refurbishment project which has seen the city pumping over R20m into the phased work aimed at bringing the facility back to its former glory.

It started with the renovation of the boathouse at costs of over R4-m and was followed by the construction of a R2.1m amphitheatre, and the about R15m multiphase project to install high-mast lighting, landscaping of the park, outdoor gym equipment, braai facilities, installation of park furniture and landscaping.