A fourth burst pipe in three years saw more devastating flooding at Seatides Combined School last week.
In the middle of the most stressful time of year for pupils sitting exams, the school had to be partially closed when water and mud tore through it on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
This after two pipes atop the hill on which Seatides Combined School is situated burst on Tuesday evening following heavy, but not unusual rain.
The pipes, which carry fresh water from the La Mercy reservoir to Seatides and neighbouring Desainager and Genazzano, also had to be shut off for the repair, cutting water to the communities for most of Wednesday.
It has been a recurring issue since the pipe first burst in 2020, happening again during last year’s April floods and at the beginning of the school year this year.
“It was a nightmare,” said school governing body co-op member and parent, Kanthan Chetty.
“My company, KC Cleaning Service, has the contract to clean the school, so I came out at 2am on Wednesday morning once I had heard what happened.”
“Rivers of water streamed through the school and the mud slowly built up overnight. It’s all going to have to be dug out by hand.”
The school closed on Wednesday and Thursday for everyone but the matrics who were writing their final exams. The exam venue was unaffected.
“Messages went out that morning but of course some children still turned up. Those who used public transport had to wait to be picked up, all of which caused a disruption for those writing their Afrikaans paper that morning,” he said.
Chetty’s staff of five and three extra casual workers worked around the clock to clean the school before other grades began their exams on Monday.
When the Courier visited the pipe last Wednesday, municipal teams were on site for repairs.
eThekwini municipality confirmed that multiple bursts had occurred in the pipeline, but denied it was in the same position every time.
“We are fully aware of the numerous and various bursts on the outlet of the La Mercy airport reservoir,” said eThekwini spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana.
“The pipeline, which includes a 150mm asbestos and 250mm PVC pipe running parallel, goes through Tongaat Hulett’s sugar cane field and on soft red sand.”
The sand eroded during the rains, which undermined support to the pipes and caused the bursts, she said.
Sisilana said a project (X8577) had been initiated “years back” to combat the issues, which would reroute the pipeline onto an existing road instead of through the field.
“Timeframes for this project completion is dependent of land acquisition which is currently underway.”
Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news
WhatsApp Broadcast Service: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BdGZsGJEAf04AXZ2yLWi8T
