According to the residents of Mahlabathini and Kulani streets, trouble started looming last year December after a certain contractor installed these new water meters outside their homes.
One of the people affected by this problem, 61-year-old Junia Mokgadi says now daily she has to go out in the cold, kneel down, stick in her hand underground to switch on and off her old meter in the yard because if she fails to follow this ritual water just floods her yard.
“My leak got serious about three weeks ago when water started and though I have tried getting help, nothing has materialised.
“These people came into our homes to erect water meters on the outside of our yards, but to do this they needed to join pipes from the inside our properties.
“When they were done that’s where some people began experiencing problems, because water started flooding in our yards.
“When we complained at the local office we were told the contractor only deals with outside meters and not inside matters, hence we should find plumbers for ourselves who will fix this mess,” Mokgadi explains.
She adds that the questions she asked was who will be liable to pay that plumber and what if upon attempting to fix the existing damage, that person causes more problems, but she got no response.
About two weeks ago after perusing the matter, she finally received an SMS stating that the City of Ekurhuleni acknowledges the water leak and that the water department is attending to the complainant and gave her a reference number, but up until now she is still waiting as nothing has been done.
“We didn’t ask for these meters, these people just came and installed them and now that we are experiencing problems, no one wants to take responsibility, yet when we speak to other neighbours who had similar issues, they say their issue was fixed.
“These people must just fix this, they must take their meters and return our homes to their original state,” she says.
Another resident who has had to sit for month watching her walls and kitchen cupboards rot is Nthabiseng Mokoena.
The 40-year-old says soon after these people installed their meter in December, days later she started seeing that there was water seeping near the old meter inside the yard.
“At first I didn’t think much of the leak until the problem became so bad that my kitchen wall started getting damp, rotting and my kitchen cupboards started falling apart underneath.
“I’ve gone to report the matter at the Tsakane Customer Care Centre numerous times but have not even gotten a reference number or help.
“I don’t work so how will I afford to fix not just the burst pipe, but my home which is now falling apart right before my eyes?” she says.
Mokoena adds that even the method they have resorted to of opening and closing the tap inside the meter will soon cause more harm and than good.
“I am filling buckets daily with water, to avoid this process and this is not a nice life.
“My water is also getting wasted and my bill is higher than ever, but no one seems to care,” she says.
Questions had been sent through to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality but by the time of publishing, response had not been given.
