Smelly problem persists
NOORDWYK – Johannesburg Water have deployed a team to a burst sewage pipe that has affected the Rietspruit River.
Johannesburg Water has begun work on a collapsed sewage pipe that has spilt into a nearby river leaving a foul stench in the Noordwyk, Erand and Country View areas.
Ward 112 councillor Lerato Mphefo said the local community noticed a horrible smell coming from the Rietspruit River which runs from Centurion to Midrand. She added that the pipe has been an issue to residents for over a month.
Johannesburg Water has deployed a team to start work on the collapsed pipe located on 14th Road in Noordwyk.
Spokesperson for Johannesburg Water, Eleanor Mavimbela said that the work being done required collaboration between the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) and the Water and Sanitation Department (WSD), to request the necessary permissions to work in the 100-year flood line.
The work involves putting up a diversion and relocate the pipe, outside of the watercourse.
Mphefo added, “This sewer pipe is not one that collapsed and the sewage fell into the river, but its actually in the middle of the river.”
Mavimbela said that the strange placement of the pipe can be attributed to rapid development in the area. She said, “The pipe was installed in the mid 1970s, at the time, the watercourse was very minimal, and the pipe was a fair distance from the watercourse.
“Over the years, as the Erand, Midridge and Noordwyk areas expanded, paved commercial and residential complexes with attenuation collectors have resulted in higher storm water run-off, thereby expanding and widening the watercourse downstream. This encroached into the pipe.”
Mavimbela continued, “The collapse started with a manhole, which was in the centre of the watercourse. With the amount of rain that we had in much of January, the thrust of the river eroded the base of the manhole and resulted in the collapse of the manhole, and subsequently the pipe.
“The collapse stretched for some 80m. The pipe is running from south of Erand and Midridge, going north towards Noordwyk and Country View.”
She said that work has already begun and is about 10 per cent complete – it is expected to be finalised in March. Mavimbela said, “We are currently monitoring the river, with an aim to carry out bio-remediation, to reinstate the river to its natural state.”
Details: Ward 112 councillor Lerato Mphefo 082 960 7043.
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