Resident goes eight days without power
Flooding caused by capacity of stormwater pipes.
A resident of Norkem Park, Edna Mlotshwa, went eight days without electricity due to mishaps allegedly caused by the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) earlier this month.
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She resides on Caledon Drive and said poor stormwater drainage has caused floods in her yard for years.
The drain located outside her yard was installed in 2012 but allegedly has been a source of the floods.
Mlotshwa said she reported the issue multiple times and was told to claim from CoE.
“I was sent from pillar to post. It’s been years and the water that floods my yard when it rains is just unbearable, as it flows into the house and damages my furniture,” said Mlotshwa.
“The councillor and city official from the roads and stormwater department did inspect the drain and said they will return with a team to fix it. A new problem has since started with my electricity supply. I suspect it was when CoE installed drainage pipes in 2012.”
Mlotshwa appointed a private electrician who found the powerlines were ‘earthing’.
“When an electrician from the municipality came out, I was told the municipality would not fix anything within the boundaries of my yard.”
Ward 91 Clr Desmond Mckenzie said the rules and regulations of service delivery to residents by the municipality is that the city is restricted to repairing faults detected outside residents’ properties.
“This is despite allegations that the power line affected might have been damaged in 2012 when the city installed stormwater pipes Mlotshwa said caused flooding.
“We did try to assist the resident in detecting the issue on the power line,” said Mckenzie.
The chief engineer of maintenance, Kgaelo Kumba, told Express the cause of floods is due to the capacity of the drain and the low-lying area.
“We found that due to the size of the pipe, it is sometimes unable to carry large volumes of water as a result of heavy rain. We have spoken to the relevant department and were told they will assign a consultant in upgrading the pipes,” said Kumba.
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