Jukskei Action Group to sniff out the foul smell
LONEHILL – Residents in Lonheill, alongside the LRA want to work together in finding the direct cause of the foul smell from the Jukskei River.
After years of enduring a foul smell emanating from the Jukskei River in Johannesburg, Lonehill resident have come together to find a solution.
On 13 February, an action group meeting was called and held at the Lonehill Residents Association (LRA) offices to launch the Jukskei Action Group which aims to find ways to combat the smell, as well as find the source thereof.
Starting on a rainy Thursday evening, nine Lonehill residents came to the meeting in the boardroom. General manager of the residents association, Keith Rampton is also the head of the action group.
He started the meeting with a presentation of the objectives of the group and discussed what people already know, what can be done, and what plan could be put into motion.
Ward 94 councillor David Foley, who was also present at the meeting, said,”What we need are a couple of access points so that when the smell arrives, you as the action group get in your cars and meet at the first point, and find more points from there. It has to be accessible to everyone and not dangerous to get to the river.
“We need flashlights, to mobilise and find as many points from where the smell could be coming from.”
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A common note among everyone present was that the smell from the river is timed as it comes later in the afternoon, and early in the mornings.
Rampton said he approached Foley for more information on what could be done. “He suggested we do something about it since we had received a few more complaints over the last month.
“An ultimate goal for us is to go to environmental health about the smell,” said Rampton.
At the end of the meeting, it was decided a WhatsApp group will be created to be in constant communication about the state of the river. With it being the first meeting, more emphasis was placed on having an action plan to get as much evidence as needed to send samples to the Departmen Environmental Health.
More meetings will be held in order to determine the way forward, and what progress has been made.
