Blocked river worries Chartwell residents

Chartwell resident Johan Weber explained that during the heavy rains on 3 February the bridge lay under the waters of the Jukskei River because debris had clogged up the underside of the bridge. It was so severely clogged that the raging waters had to find a path over the bridge.

The debris consists of litter, branches and silt but the biggest piece of debris is an entire tree that has been uprooted and is now blocking the path of the river.

Responding to residents’ complaints Ward 96 councillor Matome Mafokwane visited the bridge to see the problem for himself and speak to residents.

“Not only is the tree a hazard because it is damming the river, but the water is also stagnating and has become very unhygienic,” Weber told Mafokwane.

Weber explained to Mafokwane that while the residents of Chartwell were making a concerted effort to clean the debris every weekend they were not prepared to risk their lives to attempt to remove the tree.

He claimed that the Johannesburg Roads Agency had inspected the bridge on a number of occasions but nothing had yet been done about the debris under the bridge.

“We as a community have done more than our share. JRA needs to be held to task, it is not our responsibility to risk our lives to remove this tree,” Weber added.

Mafokwane, who actively encourages community involvement, conceded that the problem was no longer in the hands of the community. “I’m somewhat disappointed with this situation,” he said. “The community is trying hard to fix the problem but this is now in the hands of roads agency.”

Operations manager for marketing and communications for the roads agency, Bertha Peters-Scheepers, said the agency has agreed that the tree is a matter that needs urgent attention.

“The roads agency has engaged City Parks to help us with the removal of this tree as they will have the necessary tools to remove it,” she said.