Ageing infrastructure catches up with Sandton

Residents continue to look to the City of Joburg for long-term resolution as the long-time battle with Johannesburg Water’s ageing infrastructure continues across Sandton.

Following the article Frustration continues over ageing infrastructure in Bryanston [Week ending June 10], residents in Riverclub are facing a similar, if not worse, reality.

Residents in Denys Road and the surrounding streets have reported over 20 pipe bursts to Johannesburg Water since October 2021. One of the repairs carried out in December 2021 resulted in the damage of an underground power cable.

Resident Charl Crofton said, “Due to this, the street looks like a street from a war-torn country, with multiple open holes all along the road.”

Crofton has been unable to fully access his driveway since the beginning on July as a result of the excavation work done by Johannesburg Water to repair multiple bursts. “In the last week alone [week leading up to July 18], we have had five outages – four of which are in my driveway. Our cars are parked outside in the street because of this. The street is covered in mud and with no clean pavements, we can’t even walk without getting shoes covered in mud or water.”

He added that even with all these water outages, no permanent resolution has been put forward by Johannesburg Water or the City of Johannesburg.

According to Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackelford, similar patterns of these continuous pipe bursts are appearing across the ward. “Johannesburg Water understands the severity of the issue but the new budget only came into effect on July 1,” Shackelford said.

Johannesburg Water was among two of the top entities to receive the biggest allocation in the city’s 2022/2023 budget, with a R13.9 billion operational budget.

While Shackelford is fighting for the next water pipe project to take place in the ward, she noted that these projects are few and far between. “When I took over Ward 103, the previous ward councillor did mention to me that during winter, due to the old infrastructure, the pipe system experiences massive problems.”

She added that Johannesburg Water is continuously made aware of the situation on the ground and councillors are constantly trying to get as many pipe projects in to try and change these pipes but it does, unfortunately, take time.

In a previous statement, Johannesburg Water spokesperson Seipati Nyaquza confirmed that many of the bursts occurring in the area are as a result of the ageing infrastructure. Many of the pipes in the area were installed as far back at 1963.

Johannesburg Water is awaiting feedback from the depot with regards to the suburb of Riverclub.

Related articles:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/297482/joburg-water-announces-water-challenges-affecting-sandton-midrand-and-surrounds/

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/?p=315605