Despite the recent heavy downpours, no major floods had been reported in the Parow district.
Heavy and consistent rainfall have caused major disruption over large parts of the Western and Northern Cape over the past few weeks, with last week’s sunshine bringing some relief.
TygerBurger approached some of the ward councillors to find out how their arreas had been affected.
Roger Cannon, Councillor for Ward 2 (Parow), said Parow has not experienced any serious challenges as a result of the recent rains.
“There have been cases of stormwater overflows, but not to an extent that places have been seriously flooded.
“The only worrying factor is the potholes in the roads which grow bigger every day as vehicles cause them to break up. These holes cannot really be fixed while we are still having the rainfall as it only lasts for a few days.
“Water and tar do not go together and it is a waste of money where residents insist that the holes have to be repaired. There have also been a few sinkholes that have developed in certain areas. These have been temporarily filled until the weather improves,” Cannon said.
Miquette Temlett, Councillor for Ward 5 (Bothasig and Edgemead), confirmed that she had no major flooding in her ward.
Rob Quintas, Mayco member for urban mobility, sketched an overall picture for the Parow District.
“In the Parow district, the main areas that were affected by flooding were Delft and Bonteheuwel. In Bonteheuwel the N2 canal topped its banks onto the Jakes Gerwel Drive side due to too much water. The City responded quickly with an excavator which helped to rebuild the side bank to contain the water.
“In Delft the Renoster Street pond and the Roosendal pond overflowed onto the roads. The Renoster Street pond banks were compromised by the housing structures that people erected around the pond. The banks must be built up again during the current financial year. The Roosendal pond’s outlet pipe was blocked with household rubbish that people throw into it. The rubbish was cleared last week Monday (3 July), the level is now dropping and it is free flowing at this stage,” said Quintas.
He said as for the rest of the Parow and Bellville areas, they have noted localised flooding or ponding in some of the roadways and few properties were affected.
“It is important to add that during prolonged continuous rainfall events it usually takes some time for the stormwater infrastructure to divert runoff away from road surfaces, this is a normal occurrence,” Quintas said. The De La Ray pond also performed well, he said.
