GALLERY: Storm water drain causes havoc

Two residents in Rooiels Road Sharonlea, say they have been battling with a flooding problem for about a year.

On 16 February during the night, it was no different (see article), leaving them without electricity because their power box was submerged under water.

According to Simone Prinsloo, whose home has been affected the most by flooding,”It has gotten worse. Last year we went away and when we came home we found the house flooded and our things destroyed. Only after several calls and emails to the Johannesburg Road Agency(JRA) and emails at 1am and 1.30 am on 17 February did they respond to alleviate the problem.”

Prinsloo challenged the JRA to the following, ”I would welcome any one of you to bring your families, wives and small children to come and live in this flooded, rotten home for two months like we have. I would challenge any one of you to be in this home when the water pumps through, watching your furniture and belongings wash away, and get damaged by all the mud and water.”

She added that her children are the most affected by the situation and they sometimes cry and say they do not want to stay in the house anymore.

“I would challenge any one of you to watch your two small children hysterically crying and panicking traumatised not knowing where to go or what to do while the mud and water pump through their home and bedrooms, drowning their toys and soaking their beds.”

Operations manager for marketing and communications at JRA Bertha Peters-Scheepers said, ”Engineers have developed a technical report to obtain approval for emergency repairs to minimise the immediate impact of flooding on the two affected residences.”

Peters-Scheepers added that they want to determine a long- term solution for the challenges.

She explained that the rate at which the water is being drained is slower than the rate at which the run-off gathers, therefore resulting in the two residences being inundated with stormwater.’

The following solutions have been implemented by the JRA:

· The gradient of the road will be evened out with speed humps at areas redirecting the unwanted runoff back to the intended kerb Inlets [short term]

· Ensure that the servitude at 96 Rooiels is not blocked off and that any excess stormwater run-off can flow freely within the servitude in the event of a storm exceeding the capacity of the existing system. [short term]

The long-term solution will be established through further investigation which includes conducting a localised master planning study, to investigate the storm water system’s ability to handle the storm water run-off, and possibly the construction of additional kerb inlets.

Neighbour Siboniso Zikhali was left stuck at home after the power tripped and his gate got jammed.

”We have been dealing with this problem for a year now, the drain just needs to be fixed now –even when it is light rain we still get flooded because the drain is not fixed.”