What exactly is taking so long to fix water leaks?
The question on the mind of a number of Boksburg residents is why, exactly, is it taking the Ekurhuleni Metro so long to fix water leaks?
The metro has, in the past, been encouraging residents who spot a water leak to report it so that “we can fix it as soon as possible”, as water is a precious resource.
But this appears to not, in fact, be the case.
Since late November, several residents of Boksburg have reported numerous water leaks to the metro, but their complaints appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
Some residents said they have had enough of the”pathetic” service delivery when it comes to fixing water leaks.
One fed-up resident is Cindy Marais, who vowed not to “entertain such poor service any longer”.
Marais reported a water leak in Fifth Street, Boksburg North, at the beginning of December, but, it has still not been attended to.
“I have reported this problem on several occasions, but, to date, nobody has attended to it,” she said.
“One vehicle has already been seriously damaged, and I can’t believe the municipality has such an unprofessional and laid-back attitude.”
She suggested that the metro change it’s slogan in Ekurhuleni to “Waste water because we couldn’t care”, and emphasised that “their service is more than pathetic”.
Another water leak, at the corner of Paul Smit and Odendaal streets, was first reported in November, last year, but there, too, nothing has been done to date.
On November 20, Mike van der Berg, of 184 Koning Street, in Boksburg South, reported a water leak at the same address.
He also complained that the leak has not yet been repaired.
Those fortunate enough to have had their water leaks fixed had to wait a bit longer for that.
One such water leakage was reported at 50 Albrecht Road, in Sunward Park.
The problem has been going on since December 14 and residents have reported the matter to the municipality.
A Sunward Park resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said that, on January 13, subcontractors came out, but nothing was done to fix the problem.
They returned to fix it two days later, on January 15.
Jaenine Muller, of Francis Road, in Anderbolt, had to watch helplessly as clean water water was wasted for four days.
This is because it took the metro four days to restore a broken water meter.
Muller had reported the broken meter at the Boksburg Customer Care Centre, on Monday, January 11, just after the water started gushing from the pipe.
She allegedly, continuously followed up with the metro during the week.
According to her, when the contractors eventually arrived on site on Friday, January 15, she was told that the area falls under Edenvale.
“I apparently logged a complaint at the wrong municipality (Boksburg), which is why no one responded to my complaint earlier in the week,” said Muller.
“I had a good laugh, because it’s obvious that there are no controls and systems in place.”
Muller told the Advertiser that the water was flowing down the road, with pools on the pavement and inside her premises.
“We aren’t allowed to call out a private plumber, as the water meter is on municipal property,” said Muller.
The Advertiser has sent inquiries to the metro but, by the time of publication no comment had been received.
