JOHANNESBURG WATER LAUNCHES MAJOR SEWER UNBLOCKING PROJECT

Johannesburg Water Midrand depot has been busy at work targeting 12 hot spots extensions in the Greater Ivory Park area from this month until the end of December.

Johannesburg Water will be clearing 3,055 sewer blockages in over 34 kilometers. The hotspots identified include Kaalfontein Ext. 1, 4, 5 and 23; Rabie Ridge Ext. 5 and Ivory Park Ext 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12 and 13.

Sewer blockages are increasing in the area as a whole and getting more hard to resolve. This is largely due to the amount of ‘debris’ in the system which settles in the line thereby causing repeat blockages.

When clearing blockages, teams usually find material such as sand, rags, sanitary towels, clothing, rocks and at times fetuses of aborted babies and this is not what the sewer line is intended for.

Furthermore, the encroachment of uncontrolled buildings and shacks, large number of backyard dwellings, with many existing dwellings having more than 10 backyard rooms. This leads to overuse of the system.

Residents are urged to use the sewer lines for intended purposes which is to transport waste.