Grootvaly residents feel they are living on borrowed time as water leaks in the area could result in a sinkhole.
The problem is especially severe on Haasbroek Road, which has for many years flooded due to burst water pipes.
The water also enters the driveways and homes of residents, creating costly damage.
Residents allege workers from the municipality regularly fix the pipes, but they are installing the wrong sized pipe.
“These pipes are 100mm in size, but when the metro comes to fix the pipe, they replace it with a 50mm which can’t handle the pressure and then it bursts. It’s a complete waste of money, yet they still make the same mistake.
“My entire driveway is flooded and I can’t even walk in some parts of my property without being ankle-deep in mud,” said resident Sankie Beytel.
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Resident Mandy Ferreira added: “They come out at least once every two weeks to fix the pipe only for it to burst days later. Its an enormous waste of money and people are becoming frustrated that the issue is not being resolved.”
Residents also allege that much of Grootvaly is situated on dolomite and that this amount of water could result in the formation of a large sinkhole.
“This could lead to a massive disaster. There are many businesses here that can lose their livelihoods if that happens,” saif Beytel
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For local business owner Matthew Havinga, water leaks are a major concern.
“We had to be very careful where we built to avoid the dolomitic areas, but they are still around my property. If a sinkhole develops it will be a massive disaster, for me and my employees.
“We have asked the metro to send a geoscientist to address the damage and tell us if we are in danger. We are still waiting for a response,” he said.
Major power outages in the area have also been very costly to Havinga’s and other surrounding businesses.
According to Beytel, the metro did send workers out on Thursday afternoon, but she is still not satisfied with the work done in the past and the damage it has caused to her property.
Comment from the City of Ekurhuleni will be published once it has been received.
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