What a water leak in Bryanston
BRYANSTON EXT – After a leak started on the street on the afternoon of 14 January, gallons of water flowed into the property on Blackwood Street.
Fed-up Bryanston residents went to extreme measures to alert others and the City about a water leak outside a property on Blackwood Street by putting up a giant banner to draw attention to the problem.
After a leak started on the street on the afternoon of 14 January, gallons of water flowed into the property of Elsa van Niekerk.
Van Niekerk has to take care of her elderly husband and solidly relies on freshwater. The couple did not have water for four days.
She said, “Not having any water was terrible. I had to buy water from the shops to drink and cook with and used pool water to flush toilets, so we had to make a plan. At our age, it is such an inconvenience, and we just wished it could have been fixed sooner.”
She said that a man from Joburg Water told her that they could not find the leak. It was then that the residents chose to make a giant banner with an old white sheet and the words ‘water leak’ painted on it with arrows to make the area of the leak visible to everyone passing by.
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Willie van Staden, who also lives on the property, was also without water and was the person who put up the banner.
“The issue was taking days to fix and it seemed as if [Joburg Water] was having trouble finding the leak. I thought enough is enough and I wanted them to find the leak in the easiest way possible.”
Bronwen Craig of the Bryanfern Residents Association said, “As the leak had been going for days, water damage and erosion occurred at several neighbouring properties. We were also worried that the water was flowing through several electricity boxes, posing an even greater danger. Fortunately, the leak has occurred before the property’s meter, so at least the couple is not being charged for this inconvenience.
“The issue had been reported numerous times by neighbours and escalated by our ward councillor.”
Ward 104 councillor Mike Wood confirmed that the problem had been attended to and fixed on 17 January.
The Randburg Sun is awaiting comment from Joburg Water.
