JRA says work on Hymany Dam wall may begin in October

The design stages of the Hymany Dam rehabilitation project have been completed and the dam water levels will need to be lowered to prevent a complete dam wall failure.

Work on this may begin in October.

So said Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) spokesperson Kelebogile Mafa, in the utility’s response to the community’s growing concerns of the state of the dam.

Also read: Hymany Dam deteriorates at an alarming rate 

Randpark Ridge Village Association has monitored the issue for years and brought it before the municipality.

Before this latest Randburg Sun article, questions were sent to JRA and contact was made with its spokespeople since as early as July, but the agency has not responded until now, September 28.

“The environmental studies still need to be completed in full and adequate budget be allocated to the project, for rehabilitation to commence,” Mafa said.

“Currently, the environmental authorisation has been granted, however, the water use licence is still outstanding. A follow-up with the environmental practitioner was taken and it has been indicated that the response might be received from the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation by October. Once this is done, the rehabilitation project can be implemented.”

The association’s previous chairperson, Phil Culham, first reported concerns about the safety and structural integrity of this dam prior to 2017, and afterwards Rod Rankine, one of the directors of the association and a construction materials specialist, wrote a detailed report in July 2017. It warned that the dam was structurally unsound, and if not repaired soon, it could be destroyed in a single flood event and the whole dam would have to be rebuilt.