NOT even a week has passed since La Lucia resident, Michelle Lourens, expressed her outrage at a constantly bursting pipe on her verge on Davallen Avenue. Now the resident has highlighted yet another burst pipe on Wilden Place, which is parallel to her road. This pipe has been leaking since last Monday.
According to the concerned resident, the biggest issue with the busting pipes is the loss of water. “We are in a water crisis. The municipality is constantly urging us to save water, and yet here dozens of litres of drinkable water are lost,” she said
Lourens told the Northglen News that the piping on Wilden Place is just as troublesome as along Davallen Avenue. “The two sets of piping have been alternating their busts for years now. Once they have been repaired, the pipes on Wilden burst. I believe that when the water pressure is turned back on after the pipes have been repaired it causes a surge, causing the other old and weak pipes to burst,” she explained.
Water has, according to Lourens, been flowing down Wilden Place for several days. On Wednesday, she phoned the municipality about the issue and learnt that no one in the area had reported the leak.
“There had been a previous leak along that road not so long ago. The hole has not even been closed yet. It has just been left open, with the caution tape still surrounding it. When I spoke to a municipal worker about the leak, they assured me that the leak had been fixed, but I told them that another leak has sprung. He confirmed that this leak had not been reported,” she said.
The leak in Davallen Avenue flowed for more than 48 hours before officials repaired the pipe. The previous burst occurred nearly a month ago.
Over the last four years, the ongoing bursts have caused extensive damage to the resident’s home. The gushing water flowed into their laundry, and at one stage even caused the boundary wall between Lourens’ and her neighbour’s property to collapse.
In June last year, residents claimed that the pipe had burst five times in four weeks – which added to to the city’s R513-million water loss.
To date, the municipality has not responded to questions posed by the Northglen News with regards to the constantly leaking pipe in Davallen Avenue.
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