Local residents association concerned with the state of Lonehill Dam’s fractured wall

Lonehill Residents Association has raised concerns about the state of Lonehill Dam as the rainy season is currently in full swing.

This was after the local dam’s wall structure collapsed a few months ago.

Lonehill Residents Association’s environment team intervened by putting up sand bags to prevent further collapse of the wall that may lead to flooding.

Marketing manager at Lonehill Residents Association Shelly Miller said the dam has a large gaping hole in the spillway which has resulted in parts of the dam wall being washed away. “Immediate action has been taken to stabilise the dam wall using sandbags to prevent the water from flushing out and eroding the fragile dam wall. Large cracks are seen on the concrete slab of the spillway, and it is in danger of collapsing at any stage.”

She said the collapse of the dam would result in rapid loss of water and flooding which would be disastrous for the fish and water life including an otter family. “The water loss would damage the infrastructure of the surrounding park and open green space. It is possible that some water would remain in the deeper section of the dam creating small poundage and the survival of small aquatic species.”

Ward 94 councillor David Foley said Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) has taken responsibility for the repairs to the dam on behalf of the City of Joburg. “JRA has been tasked to repair the collapsed structure. Last time I checked, the process was at the planning stage. I hope they will commence with the repair project very soon.”

JRA was first contacted by Fourways Review for comment in August and responded on October 24 saying they had received the query and will revert back. No comment had been received by the time of publication.

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