Water woes for Wentworth residents
Community members had to abandon their everyday responsibilities to scoop out the hordes of water, mud and debris that had washed into their homes.
RESIDENTS of Silvertree, Burgers and Victor Lawler Roads in Wentworth were woken up by water gushing into their homes in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 22 May.
Community members had to abandon their everyday responsibilities to scoop out the hordes of water, mud and debris that had washed into their homes and gardens after a water pipe on Victor Lawler Road had burst and forcefully let out a large volume of water.
Ward 68 councillor Aubrey Snyman came in to assess the situation and the state of the various homes. “The issue all started at a house in Victor Lawler, where a resident was building a retaining wall and in the process of doing that, he dug to deep down therefore exposing the water pipe below which carries the main water supply for most of the houses in the area. That pipe needed to be covered and compacted by sand due to the immense pressure that comes from the water it carries. Unfortunately, as a result, the pipe then burst causing all the damage and suffering of the surrounding residents,” he explained.
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Snyman added that he did pay the resident responsible for the pipe exposure a visit prior to the incident, warning him about the dangers of exposing electricity wires and water pipes during construction. Eight to 10 houses were affected with flooding destruction and broken down walls being the damage incurred. Several informal houses in the area were also severely damaged, with one of them completely losing their toilet in the washaway.
Snyman has advised affected families to go to Wentworth police station to fill out an affidavit stating the incident and an estimate of their losses, accompanied the reference number of the report for the burst water pipe from the municipality. He further stated that he would write covering letter for those affected to go with the affidavit that will be taken Metro Insurance to lodge a claim.
“I really and truly sympathise with the families and the situation that they are currently faced with. As the ward councillor I will make efforts to bring in disaster management as well as other relevant members of the city and see how they can assist,” he concluded.
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