‘I have noticed water damming up on the side of the road opposite the sinkhole for some time but I never reported it. I should have done so,’ said Mr Byron Chrystos of the company MM&E, who drives past the site almost every day.
The previous afternoon, a huge sinkhole had caved in on the other side of the road near an old Blyvoor mine slimes dump. It was immediately cordoned off and representatives of various authorities, including the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), to whom the road belongs, the Merafong City Local Municipality and the Gauteng provincial traffic department were at the scene. Another person who was also present was Mr Japie Harmse, the director of operations at Covalent Water Company. This entity has been pumping water out at Blyvoor, on behalf of other mines in the region, since its liquidation.
Harmse explained that the sinkhole had developed next to a culvert. Here, water from the mines flows through the pipe, into the mining canal behind Khutsong Ext. 5 and towards the Wonderfonteinspruit. Storm water from the area also flows through this culvert.
The authorities suspect that the sinkhole formed because the recent good rains had caused more storm water than usual to dam up at the site.
Despite the area being known as a hotspot for illegal mining activities, the zama-zamas did not seem to have played a role in the development of the sinkhole.
In the meeting of all the representatives, it was clear that there was no quick-fix to the problem. On more than one occasion, one of the delegates noted that it would probably take about two years to sort it out.
The first step towards rehabilitating the site is for Covalent Water Company to re-route the pipe away from the culvert.
Harmse explained that this would be done as soon as possible. The pumping of mine water was stopped on Monday to ensure that no more water gets into the sinkhole. However, the pumping must continue to prevent the mines from flooding.
‘Sanral will first have to give us permission to move the pipe as we will have to open up the road to do the work,’ he said.
Local and provincial traffic officers have requested an alternative road through the veld on the Doornfontein village side of the road. This will allow vehicles to access the business operating in the area. More importantly, previous road closures have shown that some members of the public will ignore, or even steal, warning signs and drive through a dangerous site if there is no alternative road around it.
By Tuesday, it was still unclear who would repair the actual sinkhole. It is situated on land belonging to Blyvoor, which is still in liquidation.
Sanral already has contractors on the site to assess the situation. The road agency will repair the damage to the road itself.
The sagging of the tar surface was clearly visible on Tuesday morning. The cracks on the side of the road had steadily got worse in the two hours or so that the meeting was in session. This was a clear indication that something will have to be done urgently.
The road was officially closed after Sanral gave the go-ahead on Tuesday afternoon. By the time of print, the road was still closed just outside Carletonville and at the four-way crossing to Deelkraal.
Only people from Doornfontein and the surrounding businesses were allowed through.