Flood alleviation in response to a changing climate

The City of Johannesburg is faced with increasing weather changes. This is evident with flash flooding, tornados, and severe weather patterns. The poorest of communities, mostly living in flood-prone areas, are the most affected, prompting for speedy development processes in ensuring a safe and livable environment. 

Alexandra is an informal settlement located in the Jukskei catchment. It is regularly affected by heavy floods, gaining in intensity and frequency, due to a changing climate. These flooding events cause loss of lives, livelihoods, property, affect people’s health and lead to the degradation of CoJ infrastructure. 

Furthermore, in areas with inadequate stormwater drainage, these flooding events lead to the overloading of wastewater treatment works negatively impacting the environmental health of the city and its residents. To address this, a potential upstream intervention could alleviate the impact of flooding in a sustainable manner by adopting a proactive approach and tackling the developmental and environmental elements contributing to the intensity of the flooding events downstream.  

The project would identify potential sites upstream which would reduce the magnitude and frequency of high impact flooding events in Alexandra and settlements further downstream. It will have a direct impact on at least 12,000 beneficiaries living in the target area through improved flood management and ecosystem health. In addition, the project seeks to establish public green spaces that will serve as recreational areas and generate green jobs.