Water valve overflow damages property in Howard Road

ASHLEY residents, Pauline and Deon Tegg, are urging the municipality to take responsibility for the damage to their pool and property caused by the overflow from a water valve into their property at Howard Road.

Pauline said this was the third time where water from a drain outside their property had overflowed through their verge and directly into their swimming pool. The first incident in October last year was covered by her home insurance, however their family had to bear the costs of the second incident in July this year and earlier this month.

“The dirty water and sand that was collected from the verge through our fence and garden bed before resting in the pool caused damage to the paving around the pool and the pool’s pump. We were also told by pool technicians that the stability of our pool is at risk – the amount of water that flowed into the pool and seeped into the area around the pool could in fact pop the pool out of its shell,” said Pauline.

She added that the municipality had not made any attempts to rectify or divert the flow of the water from the manhole across the verge and under their concrete fence. Her concern is that if they were not at home and didn’t see the overflow, the damage could have been far more extensive.

Pauline sent various emails to the municipality and was informed by Thulani Ntuli of the eThekwini Municipality Insurance Department on 11 November that the claim was sent to the Water Department for further investigation. Ntuli said the matter was referred to the Engineering Unit to attend to the concerns around the manhole in case it belonged to Stormwater which is under the Engineering Unit. Pauline was then contacted a few days later and was told that the fault did not involve the Engineering Unit, but was in fact a faulty water valve that the Water and Sanitation Department would have to investigate.

Pauline’s husband, Deon said the water wastage over those days are a huge concern, especially with the low water levels in the city. He added that the overflow damaged his property and he had to fork money from his own pockets and has still not been reimbursed.

“Our wall has been compromised, which effects our safety and our swimming pool repairs amounted to nearly R8000. All I want if for the municipality to take responsibility for their lack of service,” added Deon.

Ntuli was unavailable for comment at the time of going to print.