Sinkholes at Carletonville and Khutsong reservoirs a concern
These areas have a history of sinkholes damaging infrastructure and even taking lives.
The Merafong City Local Municipality, which serves Carletonville and Khutsong, does not seem to be in a hurry to sort out growing sinkholes at two of its water reservoirs.
The Herald reported earlier this year that there is a growing sinkhole next to the water pipeline leading from the reservoir near the 007 shopping centre. However, nothing is being done to fill it up.
The Herald went to check the sinkhole on September 6. It is still just cordoned off and no visible attempt has been made to fix it. One of the sides of the sinkhole is also less than 30 cm from one of the pillars holding the pipeline in the air.
If this side of the sinkhole should collapse further, it will take the pipeline with it. The municipality will then have to spend millions extra to repair it.
At the time of the visit no-one was working at the site.
Meanwhile, there is also a growing sinkhole at one of the municipality’s other reservoirs. There is a growing cavity in the road on the side of the new reservoir at Khutsong Extension 3.
Even more worrying is that there is an even bigger sinkhole in the veld next to this road.
Although work at this reservoir started around 2017 and was finished at a cost of more than R100m just before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, it is still not in use. Many residents describe it as “a white elephant”.
Although the municipality said on September 3 that it would investigate the growing sinkhole at the Extension 3 reservoir, the municipality’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Temba Fezani, claimed on September 10 that the complaints about the sinkholes “never reached the Water and Sanitation offices”.
It did promise to investigate and take further action. They did not answer questions about the sinkhole at the 007 reservoir.
