Water waste in Benoni continues
Burst and leaking pipes are still a major cause of water loss in Benoni, despite urging by government to conserve this precious resource.
At 7 Rolina Street, Rynsoord, the water has been continually flowing for the past two years.
Tasneem Khan, daughter of the residents of the house, told the City Times that, in around mid-2013, a Telkom team dug a hole in front of the yard, causing damage to the main water supply running through there.
Yusuf and Feroza Khan, who live at 7 Rolina Street, were never informed of the reasons for the digging, and said the leak had not been repaired and the hole was not closed when the team left.
Tasneem said they have reported the leak at least four times and municipal teams have been there several times to investigate, but concluded that Telkom was responsible for fixing the pipe.
On the other hand, a Telkom team came out and said it was up to the municipality to repair the leak.
“The leakage has not affected our water quality or pressure, but litres and litres of clean water have been wasted for two years,” said Tasneem.
On the corner of Lakefield and Sunnyside avenues, in Lakefield, a pipe remains broken after being reported on January 19.
Clr Mary Goby, who reported the leak, said it had been leaking for two weeks before she reported it, and that it has not yet been attended to.
At 6 Burnley Road, Benoni South, a large leak has caused damage to the pavement in front of the property.
Since April 2, this leak has steadily opened up the pavement, to form a pot hole in a place where trucks drive by every day.
“No one cares about the water that is being wasted,” said Louise Nienaber, co-owner of Hippo Industrial Minerals.
At 6 Beech Street, Northmead, the fire hydrant in front of Rykie Kruger’s house has been leaking since November, last year.
Kruger told the City Times the leakage has slowly formed a depression in the pavement directly surrounding the fire hydrant and he fears the damage will worsen if the leak is not repaired swiftly.
He said the fire department came out, but told him it was the municipality’s responsibility, and they have never come out to fix it.
In November, last year, Ekurhuleni launched a project to decrease the response time to reports of leaks, using rapid response teams in bakkies.
At the time of going to press, no rapid response team had yet been deployed in Benoni, and neither the date of deployment or the exact number of leaks in Benoni could be determined, as no comment on these matters had been received.
The number of the call centre, at which to report water leaks, is 086 054 3000, and it operates 24 hours a day.
