Residents’ water waste woes
Although the pipes were replaced within the municipality's stipulated call-out time, residents are still concerned.
Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) recently resolved to phase in water restrictions to reduce water consumption, in response to low dam levels and a rise in temperatures.
However, residents of Batavia Street are concerned that a lot of water has been wasted over the past five days, due to a burst pipe. Because of their knowledge of the current water scarcity in South Africa, they are also furious that even though the first leakage was fixed, the pipe burst again and more water was wasted the second time around.
The pipe allegedly started leaking early on Saturday, 10 September. Residents contacted the municipality to repair the pipe. Municipal workers arrived at approximately 8.50pm on Saturday evening to close off the flow of water from further up the street.
Ben Saaiman, a resident living opposite the spot where the pipe burst, claimed that a steady stream of water had been running down the road all day.
The pipe was fixed during the course of the Saturday night.
The pipe is on municipal grounds outside the home of Solomie Kleyn, who couldn’t sleep because of the constant noise throughout that night.
The site manager, who did not want to be named due to alleged contract stipulations, said the pipe burst due to cracks. He said it was an old infrastructure pipe. They allegedly replaced the pipe with a newer model and covered it with soil.
On Thursday, 15 September, during the early hours of the morning, residents noticed that there was no water pressure in their houses. On checking outside, they realised the water pipe had burst again.
The municipality was once again contacted and within two hours municipal workers were on site. The site manager said the pipe they had replaced was connected to another old pipe and this time the old section had burst.
The water was switched off and the pipe was replaced, again.
In a statement made by the municipality, it was said the municipality would reduce its water leakage call-out time to 12 hours to ensure water waste is regulated.
“The municipality has implemented a phased water restriction programme, which includes the attempt to repair all visible water leaks within 12 hours,” said Nkosana Zali, a spokesperson for the MCLM.
Although the pipes were replaced within the municipality’s stipulated call-out time, residents are still concerned about the amount of water that was lost because of the two burst pipes.
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