Water pipes: Don’t get fined

Did you know you could be fined for repairing water pipes on your sidewalk?

Eugene Benadie from Greenhills is making sure his tap is not leaking.

Residents could be fined for repairing water pipes on their sidewalks – according to Tshidiso Tlharipe, Executive Mayor spokesperson.

Tlharipe explained residents’ responsibility compared with the municipality’s responsibility as far as water leaks are concerned. If a leakage occurs in the water meter or outside the resident’s premises, it is the municipality’s responsibility to repair such a leak. If a leakage occurs inside the resident’s house or on the resident’s premises, it is the resident’s responsibility to repair it.

“Residents’ responsibility stretches from within the house to where their premises borders on the sidewalk, in other words, to the walls or fence surrounding the house,” Tshidiso said.

Thus, it is important for all residents to attend to leaking pipes inside their houses, for example in their toilets, and outside on their premises such as leaking tap.

Tshidiso advised all members of the community to notify the municipality should they discover any leakages beyond the boundaries of their premises.

“No member of the community is allowed to work on municipality infrastructure as they will face a fine,” Richard Magryanya, manager of the Department of Water and Sanitation concluded.

After receiving this information, the Herald asked a few Randfonteiners whether they knew about this stipulation.

Eugene Benadie from Hillside said he is familiar with this issue as he has extensive experience in city council.

“I suspect these fines have been put in place because it gets more and more difficult for the municipality to keep up as the area is expanding continuously,” he said.

Annie Grundeling from Greenhills said she is familiar with this issue as she has had interaction with the municipality regarding water pipes in the past.

“I was told that anything inside my yard is my responsibility and I am not allowed to fiddle with any water pipes on the other side of my wall,” she said.

Linda Engelbrecht from Greenhills said she was not familiar with this issue, but she will keep it in mind.