Joburg Water has submitted a works request to prioritise the replacement of water pipes in Sharonlea following three incidents of homes being flooded within a month.
Millions of litres of water were lost and properties worth millions of rands were damaged when a water pipe broke in two places on Rooiels Avenue.
After the third flooding, and as a result of regular escalations by Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau and questions put to the water utility’s spokespeople by Randburg Sun, Joburg Water finally confirmed a works request for a new pipeline in the area had been put forward.
“Looking and appreciating the ageing of infrastructure in the area… The works request means the area will now be prioritised by our Planning and Capex department to avoid further damage,” said Joburg Water acting communications manager Puleng Mopeli.
“We, in the meantime reacted promptly when the AC [asbestos cement – old and easily broken pipes] pipe burst to avoid flooding of homes. So yes, the area is on our priority list.”
Also read: Homes flood twice in Sharonlea after water pipe bursts
Bittkau said he was pleased to hear this as he had been pushing for the City to replace old pipes for months.
“They [Joburg Water] told me they were waiting for emergency funding to be made available from the redistribution of the budget in November,” Bittkau said.
“I assume that is why they have put the work order in, to get access to the funding to replace the pipes.”
Bittkau, a DA councillor, claimed that when the new City of Joburg administration took over they learnt that the ANC’s target was to replace 26km of water pipes and 15.7km of sewerage pipes each year in the area.
“So far we have done 100.8km of water pipes and 69km of sewerage pipes,” he claimed.
Affected residents of the flooding, Norman Wegerle and his wife have seen valuable paintings, carpets and other items damaged beyond repair. Their back wall collapsed and their driveway needs to be repaved as a result of the flooding.
The substation next to their home has a mountain of dirt around it and its gates had been broken down by the flow of water.
Still, Wegerle places sandbags to shore up his home for the next time the pipe bursts.
“Of course, it will happen again,” he said.
“The pipe burst and ruined nearly everything. We took the rest of our stuff outside and while the contractors were working, they opened the pipe again to find the leak even though I reported it with my address so they knew where in the road it was [outside Wegerle’s home], and they flooded our homes again. So everything that was not damaged the first time was damaged again.”
Another resident, Ray Mncube who is the caretaker of a property owned by Absa Bank, complained of all the water and mud that had entered the house and property.
“We were also without running water for 20 hours while they were replacing the last burst,” Mncube said.
Greater Sharonlea Residents Forum chairperson JC Wouters expressed frustration at the lack of speed with which Joburg Water was replacing old water pipes.
