Water cut-off bursts resident’s patience
PR Ward councillor, Mpume Sithole said a special committee has been elected to deal with this problem.
FRUSTRATION of being without water for months took its toll on Coffee Farm (near KwaNdengezi, Mariannhill) residents who resorted to blocking roads and demanding answers from officials.
The residents said the matter has been reported numerous times but there seems to be no way forward.
One of the residents, who asked not to be named, said this nightmare began last year. “At that time we knew that water would only run in the mornings and evenings and we understood that and tried to work around it.
“In December our water was completely shut off with no explanation. When we phoned the water department we are told the problem is that the reservoir is low, but sometimes we get a different explanation.”
The resident said he already has a number of complaint reference numbers that were not followed up. He is forced to bring home two litres of water from work everyday.
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“I have been told that the water tank truck comes out during the day, but I have never been lucky to access water from it as I am at work during the day.”
He said what frustrated him even more was that they did not get any explanation about the real cause of their water misery.
“I have resided in this place for more that 15 years and our water was running as normal, but now all of a sudden, we are without water. Someone needs to do something, we cannot live like this. Water is a precious resource which we need daily and we can not live without it,” said the resident.
ANC PR Ward councillor, Mpume Sithole said the problem started when a water valve at the entrance of KwaNdengezi was damaged.
“Water was running but could not reach all the areas, that problem has now been sorted.”
She said in KwaNdengezi there is also a little area which serves as a substation for water and when it is disturbed in any way then the water problem starts again.
“The municipality was not aware of these problems but now a committee has been elected to look into this matter and report to the relevant department if the problem continues. We had a meeting with the community last Friday to present the findings and introduce the committee to them,” said Sithole.
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