Boksburg Lake rehabilitation project resumes

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11-04-2023
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Boksburg Advertiser
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The multimillion-rand project to clean the water has suffered lengthy delays and apparent cost overruns.

Construction work on the Boksburg Lake rehabilitation project recently resumed after delayed payment to the service provider halted it last year.

Summer’s wet weather also rubbed salt into the wound because, according to the metro, it led to high water levels that made working in the water challenging.

The long-awaited water quality improvement project at the lake kicked off in October 2021, and the original estimated cost was R34m.

Thereafter, the two phases of the multimillion-rand project to clean the water suffered lengthy delays and apparent cost overruns.

However, the metro maintained that despite these delays, there is a significant effort on-site to remedy the situation.

Progress

According to the metro spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini, workers are doing the remedial work on the weir.

Dlamini said progress on the weir remedial works and bridge preparation is at 86%. At least 25% of the bridge handrails were already manufactured offsite, and the installation would take place in the next three weeks after the completion of the bridge preparation.

“The planting of plants within the lake would be done once it is ascertained that the rains have stopped,” said Dlamini.

New projected completion date

Phase two’s expected completion date is the end of June. However, Dlamini said it is not easy to predict the completion of the project and the reopening of some of the closed sections because, at this stage, the third phase (last one), which is the installation of the aeration system, is dependent on the availability of funds.

“It is important to note that the third phase will only be done once the budget is available.

“There have been budget cuts on CapEx (capital expenditure). Unfortunately, this project was affected by the budget cuts. Once phase two is completed, the park will reopen to the public,” explained Dlamini.

Early last year, the city vowed commitment to deliver projects that give the facility a facelift.

To tackle the foul odour emanating from the lake because of decades-long pollution, the metro, late in 2021, initiated the project that comprises the construction of a weir system across the lake, base gabions, dam aerators, the creation of artificial floating wetlands, a pedestrian bridge above the berm, and the planting of more indigenous trees.

The city also promised to launch a parallel operation that would see teams crack down on upstream heavy industries, SMEs and individuals, all poisoning the lake water with contaminates.

Once a hot tourist destination, the lake had become an environmental and public health crisis in Boksburg, according to concerned experts and local organisations, which had, for many years, called for government intervention.