Resident’s summer fears allayed
ORANGE GROVE - JOHANNESBURG Roads Agency has allayed an Orange Grove resident’s fears about the summer rains as her street’s storm water drains were overgrown with grass and dirt.
In North Eastern Tribune week ending 17 October 2014, the anxious resident, Elzabé Nel, claimed for the past three years the residents in 7th Street (a block away from Patterson Park), had been victims of flooding during the rainy season, mainly because of the failure by Johannesburg Road Agency to clean the storm water drains.
Nel said, “I had a look at the storm drains on 7th Street again and they are overgrown with grass and there is litter blocking them. We have reported this to Johannesburg Road Agency as they need to clean this up. In previous years we had the same problem.”
She said because of flooding there was damage to their properties with water streaming through their homes.
Nel said, “There was a time I stood in water rushing through my property at least a metre deep), and I can do nothing about this.”
Nel had added she had lost a washing machine, tumble dryer, cupboards and many valuables due to flooding, and is now listed as a high flood damage risk client with her insurance.
In response, the road agency’s Bertha Peters-Scheepers stated that the agency would send inspectors to look at the matter and check what needed to be done to prepare for the rainy season.
Peters-Scheepers said, “We will immediately be sending out an inspector to assess all maintenance work that needs to be undertaken.”
She also said agency officials would resolve the blocked drains and related matters in the next week.
Peters-Scheepers added, “The agency is preparing for the rainy season and routine cleaning of storm water drains such as these forms part of the programme.”
