A Competent person with engineering expertise shall
investigate any proposed townships or existing township areas which are
underlain by dolomites/limestones and shall prepare a clearly motivated report
in which the township stability is zoned in terms of prevailing professional
practice. The detail report must detail any precautionary measures which are
required to reduce the risk of sinkhole formation/ subsidence and any
restrictions of land usage, layout, erf sizes, density, services etc. The report shall be submitted to the Council
for Geoscience to obtain confirmation that these investigations are consistent
with sound professional practice and the investigations meet all legal
requirements pertaining to such stability investigations.
The report will included the impact of the stability of
borehole installations and the construction of swimming pools and briefly
outline the condition and nature of existing storm water systems and wet set
services. It should also specify any
requirements or precautionary measures.
In townships zoned with precautionary measures (D2 and D3)
where services have already been installed, the report shall outline where such
services fail to meet the minimum requirements and to observe those
precautionary measures set out.
This Competent Person should also liaise with the local
authority under whose jurisdiction the proposed township lies and include a
statement by such authority on their services risk management systems in
dolomitic/limestone areas. These
statements must be signed by the relevant chief executive office and include
the authority’s policy and procedures which it has in place in respect of the
installation of bulk water and sewer services, measures to prevent land
invasion on areas zoned as D4, maintenance of township services and enforcement
of any special provisions and/or restrictions which may be imposed on
individual erven.
In sectional title developments, we would prepare and submit
a services risk management plan for inclusion in the constitution of the body
corporate which is to be established together with a firm undertaking that this
plan be incorporated in the constitution which is put before the first body corporate
meeting for adoption.
Furthermore, the use of existing investigation reports on
the township in order to reduce the amount of additional investigations is
required if adequate and valid.