Every time it rains heavily, residents in Sunnyside close to the N2 fear their houses will be flooded – thanks to a job left unfinished 26 years ago.
Every time it rains heavily, residents in Sunnyside close to the N2 fear their houses will be flooded – thanks to a job left unfinished 26 years ago.
When the N2 bypass was built in the 80s, an access road was made from George Street. In 1987 a storm water run-off was built leading off the road – but was left incomplete.
As a result, there is no channel for floodwaters between the road and the stormwater drain. To make way for the access road a house on the property of 12 Temlett Street was demolished.
But the site was not properly cleared. Still remaining are two drains, a manhole, the base of an old telephone pole and a lot of rubble.
Gert Bezuidenhout, who has lived next door to the property for 40 years, has to contend not only with both being flooded every time it rains, but also the dereliction on his doorstep.
As if the mess and damage weren't bad enough for the house-proud Bezuidenhout, he also has to contend with an alien threat.
The next-door property is overgrown with declared weed Lantana, a Category 1 plant according to regulations of the Conservation of Agricultural resources Act (CARA).
These plants may not be allowed to disperse. The lantana on the adjacent property an surrounding commonage has grown to the extent that it block the natural water run-off path.
This, together with the incomplete drainage system, means water collects on Bezuidenhout’s property during heavy rains, flooding his home.
As the lantana grows, he says the risk of flooding to his house and those of his neighbours worsens.
Bezuidenhout told Grocott's Mail he had been trying unsuccessfully for four years to get the municipality to remedy the problem.
Bezuidenhout says the city's engineers need to resolve the drains' alignment, and that its parks and recreation division needs to remove the alien plants.
At the time of publishing municipal spokesperson Mncedisi Boma could not be contacted for comment.
