Randpark Ridge sewage leak unattended by Joburg Water for 3 weeks
Sewage pours into Pampoen Spruit 3 weeks after Joburg Water said it would fix this.
Three weeks have passed since Johannesburg Water said it would fix a sewage leak in the Pampoen Spruit and seemingly nothing has been done yet.
The water utility spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said on August 24 that they were aware of the leak in Randpark Ridge and ‘technical teams will attend to the leak by the weekend’ (of August 26–27).
However, on September 15 she said they still need to hire a contractor to do this.
“We are starting a Request for Pricing (RFP) and anticipating appointing a contractor end of September,” she said.
“Once appointed the contract plan will inform the timeline to complete the work which we envisage to not be more than a week.”
Meanwhile, residents in Boskruin who live 3km northeast of the point of the leak, must still endure the smell of sewage drifting passed their homes in the unsightly green water of the spruit. Now and then toilet paper and faecal matter can be seen floating by or collecting on the banks or where the water is shallow.
“It smells awful and it is terrible for the environment, I do not know why it is taking them so long to fix,” said Stephen Hall, who along with neighbour Chris le Roux have endured this for what they said had been three years, though it had been much worse this year.
“The smell is still awful and there is still sewage pouring into the river. I am not aware of anything being done by Joburg Water,” Le Roux said.
Ward 134 councillor Devon Steenkamp also confirmed he was aware of the leak and that a community member had reported it to the water utility. However, no residents had asked him to escalate it before now.
“If there is a matter I would appreciate the community reach out to me and tell me if it requires a site inspection so that Joburg Water can be guided on where the leak is,” he said.
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