Umbogintwini residents are frustrated at a leaking reservoir constantly flooding their homes.
According to a Mnengwe Road resident, Robert Ntombela, eThekwini Municipality relocated the reservoir to its present site in the 1980s.
“Since 2005 we have had this problem of it leaking,” he said. “At first it was minor, but then it changed to a heavy flow. It floods our yards and houses everyday, winter or summer.”
In desperation, Robert dug trenches around his property to channel the water flow onto the street. In the past the street was constantly under water, but when the municipality resurfaced it recently, a high curb was built along the road to channel the water into storm water drains.
“This doesn’t solve our problem,” said Robert. “There is always a lot of standing water in our yards and the mosquito problem is terrible because of it.”
Neighbour, Thulisile Mchunu has it even worse. Only one bedroom in her two-bedroom house is not flooded. Her kitchen, main bedroom and dining room floors are constantly under water. “My dining room is unusable,” she said.
According to Robert and Thulisile, the municipality is aware of the problem. “They sent out people to come inspect our houses and they even took samples, but that was the last we heard of them,” said Thulisile. “We even complained at a public meeting, but still nothing is being done to help us.”
The Sun sent a query to eThekwini Municipality on Tuesday, 15 April, but to date no response has been forthcoming.
