A veld fire engulfs the eastern side of OR Tambo International Airport on Monday. One runway was temporarily closed. Picture: Supplied
Kempton Park and Boksburg residents are getting fed up with their neighbour, OR Tambo International Airport.
This week’s massive veld fire just added to the long list of concerns that residents living along the perimeter and immediate vicinity of the airport have.
One of the greatest bugbears is Airports Company South Africa’s (Acsa) attenuation dam off Dakota Road in Boksburg. This dam is used to store overrun flood water from airport grounds and drainage systems and is supposed to protect the very neighbours whose yards have been flooded for more than three years.
ALSO READ: Veld fire highlights lack of security at OR Tambo Airport
Local ward councillor Simon Lapping said: “Every rainy season it’s the same story. The dam fills up quickly and sends water gushing down the road and into yards, houses and swimming pools.”
According to Lapping, the community has sent the airport numerous complaints every year, but had no response from Acsa. Lapping said that the dam is so silted and overgrown with reeds that it has become more of a pan, where water just washes over, than a receptacle that protects its surroundings.
Acsa’s Samukelo Khambule promised that the matter would be attended to before things get wet and washed up.
“As an interim solution our maintenance team will connect to the nearest storm water connection and clear the vegetation. This is expected to minimise the flooding,” she said. “This work will commence before the rainy season.”
Lapping asked: “Why does it take going to Saturday Citizen to get the airport to do something about a problem that’s been there for many years with previous complaints falling on deaf ears?”
The neighbours are also not happy about what’s happening on the airport’s outer perimeter.
While Acsa assured Saturday Citizen that inner perimeter walls secure the airport sanctum, it’s the outer fencing that cordons off the no-man’s land area around the northeastern section of the airport that is of concern.
Lapping said: “There is no real fence. There are a few concrete droppers and rusty old broken-down fencing that separates the road from the bushy eucalyptus-treed veld.”
The grass is tall here, with kakiebos spewing blackjacks everywhere. Lapping said that recently criminals have started using the concealment that the overgrown area offers.
“In addition, most of the trees I have seen are eucalyptus and other invasive species,” said Lapping. “These should be cut down immediately. It would also stop the chopping down of these trees for firewood. Imagine if this section caught fire, it could have been a disaster for the neighbourhood.”
The airport fire nearly reached the area but was extinguished as it spread somewhat past a water tower and reservoir complex nearby. The fire breaks in this area are overgrown and, in some places, invisible.
Yesterday, Acsa assured Saturday Citizen that it was in the process of restoring its fire breaks to compliance. However, it was clearly not soon enough to contribute to minimising the spread of Monday’s veld fire.
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