Government holds Parke Shon Mani responsible for flooding

December 01, 2011 2:34 PM

During an inspection at the residential Parke Shon Mani, DOW discovered defects in the construction of the drainage system and stated the following.

“You are at all times responsible for all damage sustained by neighbors during downpours because the construction of rainwater drainage deviates from the approved plan.”

Due to complaints about flooding from the neighbors of Parke Shon Mani in the Vredenberg district, the Department of Public Works (DOW) sent a letter to the residential park at the beginning of this month on behalf of the Ministry of Traffic, Transport and Regional Planning. In her initial response this morning, Sharin Treurniet of Parke Shon Mani said she was not informed of the letter or the contents. “DOW conducted an inspection in November last year, which we thought had gone well. We never heard from them afterwards.”

Carlos Tramm, owner of Foto Studio Tramm, is one of the neighbors experiencing considerable inconvenience with downpours and brought the matter to the attention of DOW and Drov repeatedly. He believes the construction on the adjacent terrain upsets the natural waterways seriously without providing for an adequate drainage system. According to Tramm’s attorney, Gerrit Scheper, the letter from the department was based on a report of two pages referring to the inspection. Scheper says they will give the residential park some time to respond to the letter. “Of course, we will wait until the residential park has read the letter. We finally received written confirmation that the construction of the drainage system by Parke Shon Mani did not comply with the conditions. This new development finally offers a clear viewpoint from experts,” says the lawyer.

Five defaults
The letter from DOW lists five defaults. The department concludes that

1) the constructed covered concrete drainage is 1 meter wide whereas DOW states this should have been 2 meters as per the approved design;

2) the constructed open gully opposite Zen City is made of concrete although the approval was given for a non-concrete gully and the latter lacks a drainage channel;

3) the constructed rainwater basin was halved and a swimming pool was built on the surface of the other half;

4) two grids in the covered concrete water drainage collecting water from Rotterdamweg and Hugenholtzweg form a blockage causing serious flooding of the areas upstream; and

5) the passage of the constructed concrete covered drainage near the footbridge was changed considerably.

19 November 2011