Sewage drama flares up again
Unfortunately, the remedial work done to restore the manhole cover and safety of both pedestrians and motorists is failing.
Once again, many residents of various residential units on Van Bergen Street in Amorosa, Ruimsig, have had enough of their prevalent stinky situation.
The Northsider published an article in August concerning the overflowing sewerage system plaguing Totius Street between Flora Haase Road and Pinard Road.
According to Johannesburg Water (JW) Regional Manager Randhir Singh, “JHB has confirmed that it was a stormwater manhole. JW and the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has agreed on the material required and will address the situation as soon as possible.” Two days later, Timbavati resident Gerhard van Rooyen confirmed that the remedial work had been completed.
Unfortunately, the remedial work done to restore the manhole cover and safety of both pedestrians and motorists is failing. According to van Rooyen, “the same manhole cover that took JRA more than four months to ‘fix’ is broken again,” he went on to say that the concrete is “simply crumbling” and has fallen into the manhole again. Van Rooyen, like many residents, is pleading to the government to implement a long term solution to this unsavory situation.
“The sewerage drain a few metres further down the road is overflowing every other day or so,” Van Rooyen added, “and that cover is now also broken and ‘standing’ upright in the drain, making the intersection extremely dangerous to navigate, particularly at night. This is a disaster waiting to happen.”
Van Rooyen has lodged a query with the JRA once again and received confirmation of receipt from Katlego Ngoepe, the Acting Depot Manager for Region C.
What remedial steps can be taken to give the residents of Amorosa a long term solution?
As mentioned in the previous article, a few factors play a role in resolving the drainage issue. First, consider the slope at which Van Bergen Street descends the hill. Second, there is an influx of residential units and retirement villages opening on top of the hill in Amorosa, and finally, the drainage system used by the many buildings in the area has insufficient capacity.
The question is still left unanswered, ‘Did the municipality and land developers consider the high volumes of waste when designing the sewage system?’
Do you have any ideas on how to solve this problem? If you do, send a letter to northside@caxton.co.za.
