This state of affairs has angered residents of Plantation and Van Dyk Park, who accuse municipal workers of being lazy and reluctant to urgently attend to leaks, resulting in major water losses in the metro.
In Plantation, on the corner of Cedar Avenue and Elm Street, a damaged underground main pipeline is sending kilolitres of safe drinking water down the road, day and night.
According to residents, the pipeline has been gushing treated drinking water constantly, for more than a week now.
One of the concerned residents, Sebastian Smith, said he had sent emails to the municipality several times – requesting that the water leakage outside his home be attended to, but nothing has been done.
“I noticed the leak almost a week ago and, as we live in a country that faces water shortages, I was very concerned about the water these burst pipes are wasting.
“I immediately sent an email to the municipality and, more than a week later, the problem has still not been attended to.
“Whenever the pipeline develops a leakage we immediately report it to municipal officials.
“However, only after many reminders do water crews come out to the scene to inspect the problem.
“To make the problem even more difficult, as soon as the water crew leaves the area – the pipeline develops a leak again, and water starts to stream down the road, as you can see for yourself now,” explained Smith.
The Advertiser understands that the underground pipeline has been intermittently spurting water over the road since early last year, because it is poorly maintained.
Following the Advertiser’s 2015 story about the pipeline in question, the metro confirmed that they are aware of the problem, adding that the pipe needed to be totally replaced, as it was very old.
The municipality said it was planning on removing the old infrastructure in Plantation, which would significantly reduce the relatively large percentage of water loss.
Last year, people of the area also urged the municipality to immediately replace all the aging water pipes in the area to prevent water wastage, but that has not happened.
In Van Dyk Park, another leaking pipe is said to be sending kilolitres of water down the road daily.
The leakage is on Vaalbos Street, and is said to be just one of many across the area.
A resident who lives in the area told the Advertiser that she had called the municipality several times since October 11, requesting that the water leakage outside her home be attended to.
She was given a reference number (2174031) and made follow-up calls, but nothing has been done about the leak.
The metro has recently imposed restrictions on water usage by residents across the metro until further notice.
Residents are urged not to water their gardens between 6am and 6pm, to not wash their vehicles with hosepipes.
They are also barred from filling their swimming pools and watering gardens using hosepipes or sprinklers. -@FanieFLK
