Let a river run through it
Lorentzville, Johannesburg - Gauteng
Originally published: February 2021
Urban waterways, when they are healthy and thriving, can enhance quality of life, stimulate creative ideas for life along a river, and give people pride in their environment. It was with this in mind that a clean-up and restoration project along 7km of the Jukskei River kicked off a few years ago, spearheaded by a community-led initiative called Water for the Future. With the collaboration of the broader community at Victoria Yards in Lorentzville as well as a network of sponsors and collaborators, the initiative has been able to get the river running clean again and to create longer-term prospects for sustainable custodianship of the river. It’s also sparked ideas and initiatives for collaborations, green economy projects and community upliftment projects.
What was the problem?
The suburb of Lorentzville is a residential neighbourhood that is also home to industrial factories and manufacturing businesses. It’s long been neglected as one of the poorer inner-city suburbs.
The Jukskei River, which has its source at the centre of Ellis Park stadium, runs through this suburb. But the river is forced into concrete channels as it flows west and for years has in many parts been bricked up.
It “daylights” - or is exposed to the natural environment - in Lorentzville. But for years this led to the waterway becoming a dumping ground. It was contaminated by untreated sewerage, and filled with industrial rubble, chemical waste and other everyday urban junk and toxins.
In this state it was a health risk, an environmental hazard and robbed people of a natural asset that could enhance their experience of their neighbourhood.
How did they solve it?
In 2017 two women, conservationist Romy Stander and artist Hannelie Coetzee, decided to tackle the problem of bringing back to life this key water system in Joburg.
Their hope was to merge environmental science, green infrastructure research, community, and art for a river restoration model that could be replicated in other places in the country.
Stander is also co-founder of the NGO Water for the Future and Coetzee holds a master’s degree in environmental science. They started things off in December 2020 by gathering community members to remove invasive plants and putting in natural water filters to start purifying the river.
They concentrated their efforts on the 7km of the river between Lorentzville and Bruma Lake and worked on ideas of collaborative green ideas, community-based sustainable design, and creative skills development.
The restoration and clean-up of the river would be an ecological corridor of safe water, eco-art and a thriving green environment, they imagined.
Over time they have bought on many partners, sponsors and collaborators from the community. They’ve been able to pool different expertise, including those who do water monitoring and sampling, corporates who have the power of funding and resources and they have created community teams who have a vested interest and personal custodianship of the river and the environment.
What made it work?
The power of collaborating across interests and disciplines was critical to ensure more areas of expertise could be gathered together to create a sustainable plan for a living river.
Community involvement was at the heart of the initiative, making it one that created local employment and gave people a sense of community ownership of the project.
They partnered with local corporate sponsors and established institutions. This raised their profile, gave them access to funding and resources and ensured the project could be more than a once-off river clean-up.
Community input has meant they’re able to get the most locally appropriate ideas to put into action and also stay connected to the issues that are closest to the community’s heart.
They generated media interest and media coverage. This helped raise their profile and kept the project in the public spotlight.
Acknowledgements
Author: Ufrieda Ho
Original articles/sources: Kim Harrisberg and Sean Christie
www.victoriayards.co.za/news/2021/2/12/reclaiming-the-jukskei-river
Photograph: Water for the Future
Get your community involved
Is there a community-driven group or caring business in your area? A dedicated group of committed people can effectively solve local problems.
Think about starting or joining community groups like a street WhatsApp group, residents' association, or community policing forum (CPF) to get help and to stay informed and involved in local issues.
How to set up a community group
How to start a residents' association
How to set up a community policing forum
How to set up a neighbourhood watch
How to organise community action
How to use media to create pressure for change
Know your rights – how local government works
It’s important to understand how your local government works so that you can work with them to support what they are doing while your community continues to keep them accountable and deliver services on time. Remember you have a constitutional right to many of the services provided by local government, as well as to accountability and transparency, wherever you live and regardless of how much you earn. It is also where money collected from taxes and rates goes.
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