A resident of 27 Adrienne Street, Sandown, Regina Molloy, called the Sandton Chronicle in a state of panic after a municipal water pipe burst outside her house, causing water to run into her property, resulting in extensive damage.
“The water has been running for 15 hours and I called the City of Joburg, but they have not come to fix the pipe. This is an incredible waste of water, not to mention the damage it’s causing to my property,” said Molloy on the morning of 31 January.
She sent a video to the Sandton Chronicle depicting her gardener and another neighbour’s helper digging a channel to force the water to flow down the street, instead of into her property.
Molloy said that a pipe burst outside her house on 25 January to which Joburg Water responded promptly and resolved the issue. The next day, a pipe burst in the same street at number 39. Molloy believes that it was because of the old piping infrastructure that the pipe burst again.
“Main water that has burst and left running for 17 hours is not acceptable when water is a precious resource. Can the City of Joburg implement a Twitter account exclusively for water conservation where desperate residents can load photos of their disasters in which Joburg Water can respond?” added Molloy.
She said that despite numerous phone calls and posts on Twitter to Joburg Water, the water was only turned off after running for 17 hours.
Water rushed through Molloy’s home and into her pool, ruining her pool pump and causing flood damage to her home.
“My kids slept on the other side of the house last night and my husband slept in the lounge out of fear that we would wake up and be completely flooded.”
Ward councillor Vincent Earp said, “There are too many water bursts taking place in Sandown Ext 24. I have been pushing Joburg Water for about six months regarding the situation in Sandown Ext 24. Joburg Water is aware that the pipes are old and need to be replaced. They have started the process of procurement and appointing subcontractors. This, as well as securing funding outside of the budget, is a slow process.”
He added that Joburg Water replaced pipes on Gerrard and David Streets after residents experienced bursts every second or third day. “We will continue to work with Joburg Water to ensure that this pipe replacement takes place.”
Joburg Water has not yet responded to questions from the Sandton Chronicle relating to this incident.
NO luck getting through to JHB Water. Burst pipe since yesterday Adrienne Street, Sandown, Sandton pic.twitter.com/l8TxgoUFvJ
— Matt (@mattsandton) January 31, 2018
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