My socials right now are full of advice to Eskom about where it can stick itself, about taxing the sun, about how next thing we’ll have to ask permission before we sink a borehole etc etc
Thing is, you are supposed to seek permission before sinking a borehole. My wife was involved in a project to supply a Salvation Army hostel with borehole water. A charity did all the drilling, provided tanks and filters etc, but Sally Ann had to take care of all the paperwork and the charity would not drill until the paperwork was done. This task devolved to my wife, who went to the relevant COJ offices, filled in the forms and got permission.
Not long after I bought the house we now live in, there was a big storm. The bottom end of the property got flooded to the extent that one could no longer see the swimming pool. The water was 2 feet plus up the wall at some points. My neighbour, who also got flooded, told me it was a once in a generation storm.
After three once in a generation storms in three years, I decided to start thinking about extra storm water drainage at the top of the property. I called in a plumber. He said that what I wanted couldn’t be done without mixing stormwater with sewage which was not allowed. He proposed an alternative which would still have required excavation at the top of the driveway and then a pipe discharging into the stormwater drain outside my property.
He told me two other things
- I would have get permission before he dug because it was likely that other entities would have servitude.
- It would cost me nothing to call Joburg Roads and ask them to check the stormwater drain.
There was a guy in the street who works for a company that handles changes of zoning and rights, he gave me the paperwork that I would have to complete. I had to get permission from seven other entities (including the usual suspects: City Power, Jhb Water, Telkom…) all of whom might have pipes or cables at a certain point and depth, or might have the right to put infrastructure there in the future (very interestingly to me, Vumatel were not included in all of this, even though they had fiber somewhere across my driveway).
All of this comes to mind because of what happened to Gautrain last week. The last (or first) leg of their route is between Rosebank and Jhb city center. They are running underground at this point. A driver noticed water running through the roof of the tunnel. Gautrain investigated, suspended operation between Rosebank and the city, and issued a statement saying they suspected illegal drilling (they did not say “mining”).
They investigated and found the cause of the problem. They have servitude on several properties, so many meters each side of where their tunnel runs. A property owner decided to sink a borehole, hired some company to do it. Nobody checked the servitudes or sought permission. The location where they drilled was where Gautrain have servitude. The drilling compromised the tunnel.
Gautrain are now seeking redress via the courts.
But it’s an example of whilst we own property and think that, like an Englishman, our home is our castle, we actually do not have unlimited rights in law - and maybe shouldn’t.
If I’d have just dug that trench at the top of my driveway (and some folks have done that). Several services would have been interrupted and my neighbours would not send me Christmas cards.
Living in a world with networks and infrastructure requires sacrifices, obligations (on both sides, though one side usually has more muscle), and rules.
