Water from damaged pipe damages Isipingo home
The Chiliza family have had to deal with the issue of an arterial water pipe bursting for the fifth time since moving into their home in 2004.
AN ISIPINGO family woke up to a disaster on February 19, after an arterial water pipe burst outside the property, leading to the house being flooded by water and mud.
Also read: PICTURES: Flooding on the South Coast
After thousands of litres of water and mud gushed into the property on Pardy Road, the family members had to be rescued by firefighters as they were trapped indoors amid rising water levels. Thembi Chiliza said water started coming into the house at around 04:00 as she was preparing to wake the children up for school.
“At first, it wasn’t much, but our retaining wall soon collapsed, and it brought a flood in. I thought we were going to die because everything was happening so fast,” said Chiliza.
The high watermark inside the house indicates that water rose as much as 500cm. Outside, on the walled yard, the watermark stood at about 600cm. The whole yard is caked in a thick layer of mud and silt. Chiliza said it was the fifth time the same pipe in the road had collapsed since moving into the house in 2004.
“This recent episode has been the worst ever. All the furniture has been destroyed, and it will cost a lot of money to clean all the mud in the house and outside,” she said.
She pointed at a brand new washing machine that was bought only a day before but had been damaged before she could use it. She also pointed out cracks that had appeared on the wall that were not there before.
Ward 90 councillor Shad Nowbuth, who happens to stay across the road from the damaged house, said eThekwini needs to find a permanent solution to the problem as it has been recurring for too long.
“Besides inconveniencing the Chiliza family, this has affected the larger community as it means all taps are dry and there is no water supply. The ratepayers need a definite direction in this as it cannot carry on any longer,” said Nowbuth.
He promised to liaise with eThekwini to see what immediate assistance can be given to the Chiliza family.
eThekwini had not responded to questions at the time of publication.
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