Olivedale’s water reservoir is unsecured and unsafe with a local councillor warning that the effects could be catastrophic.
“Anyone who wanted to could gain access and poison the area’s water supply, as the fence is broken and there is no further security. While such an incident is unlikely, it is entirely possible,” said Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau.
Furthermore, the overgrown trees on the land surrounding the reservoir – where a small community of hawkers operate and recyclers burn plastic – provides perfect cover for this and the perpetrators would never be caught.
Johannesburg Water maintains reservoirs like this one, and its spokesperson, Nolwazi Dhlamini, has argued access to the reservoir is still impossible, though she would not divulge what would prevent someone from gaining access to the reservoir without a fence or security.
The reservoir lies in the veld between President Fouché Road, Jacaranda Avenue and Windsor Way.
“The area needs an undercut so we can see into it from the road, and the homeless people living in the bushes make it unsafe,” Bittkau said.
“It was Joburg Water’s own people who broke the fence down when they came to work on a valve.”
Bittkau met Randburg Sun along with some recyclers and hawkers who had been there as long as 15 years.
Simon Tshabalala and Frank Shoko sell wooden trellises between odd jobs. They said they did not work there by choice but by necessity.
“If there was a formalised area for us to trade nearby we would be there, but there isn’t. So we sell at the side of the road,” Tshabalala said.
A recycler, who wished not to be named, said he would be fine with the trees around the reservoir being trimmed, though Bittkau countered other recyclers would not be so happy if they were unable to burn their plastics behind the bushes.
Joburg Water spokesperson, Nolwazi Dhlamini could not confirm when the fence would be repaired but said the entity is ‘in the process of procuring services to resolve this matter’.
“The operations manager responsible for the site is arranging with Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo to meet on-site in order to undertake tree pruning and agree on the scope of work,” she said.
Though she and other spokespeople at Joburg Water had been sent questions about this matter since March 14, the only response Dhlamini had to whether someone could gain access to the reservoir without a fence or security was ‘No, it’s not possible’.
“Some of Johannesburg Water’s reservoirs are guarded with securities on-site 24/7, while other reservoirs do not have dedicated security on- site (due to limited resources), however, they are kept locked at all times.”
City Parks spokesperson Jenny Moodley confirmed the entity was engaging with Joburg Water to ‘address the horticultural issues around the reservoir’.
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