WATCH: Morningside water leak continues unabated

THE issue of water leaks and sanitation problems in the Morningside area need urgent attention, says ward councillor, Ernest Smith.

Smith said over the past month, there have been more than 14 different cases reported to him, and the problem seems to be ongoing with no solution in sight.

One such case is a leaking water pipe in Milner Road, Morningside, which has been reported to the municipality since before lockdown.

Resident, Beate Kleim said several times residents got different reference numbers and escalation assurances, however the water continues to run.

“I am so tired of seeing good drinking water going down the drain. We reported the problem in March before lockdown and received a reference number. Nothing has been done to fix this. The flow has increased over the past four months,” she said, adding that geese flocked there to swim in the water, which is flowing like a river from the leak in the main water line, across the lane and down the drain.

She said a day after meeting with Berea Mail and the councillor regarding the matter this month, she had a small leak in her water meter which was reported and attended to within a day.

“There is obviously someone working, but not attending to the big jobs,” said Kleim.

Another resident, who has also reported the issue to the municipality, said: “Other people cry for water, where there are water shortages and they have to conserve it, but here, this water has literally been running down the drain for four months and nothing has been done to fix it. It is also causing structural damage to the road.”

Councillor Smith said this was an ongoing battle and only one of many cases reported to him.

“A few residents in the road reported this leak to me and I sent it for escalation weeks ago. Eight days later nothing had happened, so I re-escalated the case. I hope there will be some action on this as it is a waste of water,” he said.

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Smith said this was a repetitive issue as the infrastructure in the area was old and needed to be replaced.

He listed roads where cases have been reported over the past month, and in some cases there have been numerous faults reported.

These included four in Stephen Dlamini Road, Lilian Ngoyi Road, Percy Osborn Road, Juniper Road in Overport, Avondale Road, Problem Mkhize Road, four cases in Lambert Road, Annerley Road, Peter Mokaba Road, Hartley Road and Halstead Gardens.

There have also been reported water pressure issues experienced by residents, especially in Lilian Ngoyi and Rapson Roads.

“No one seemed to be working to address these issues during lockdown, and there is also a budget issue and not enough plumbers working for Metro as sub-contractors,” he said.

No response to a request for comment had been received by eThekwini Municipality at the time of going to print.

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