Water wasted for over a month

A water pipe break in Smith Street sees at least 50 000L to 80 000L of water being wasted on a daily basis.
According to residents in the area the problem has been ongoing for at least a month now.

Numerous attempts were made by residents to contact the municipality, both telephonically and on social media, reporting the issue of the wasted water yet no repairs have been made.

“Water that is scarce at the moment is just flowing away wasted,”

said one of the residents.

With Witbank Dam being at 42% capacity which is over 65% below as compared to the previous years around this time. A number of water restrictions have been imposed by the Emalahleni Municipality.

Additionally spot fines of up to R 3 000 shall be issued to offenders breaking these restrictions. Repeat offenders could be summonsed and be liable for prosecution resulting in a fine of up to R20 000, or imprisonment up to six months to 12 months, or both.

An article in last week’s WITBANK NEWS explained the restrictions and tariffs in detail, for further information regarding the restrictions visit https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/78699/use-more-water-pay-more-for-water.

The Emalahleni Municipality was contacted with regards to the matter and Mr Theo van Vuuren, Municipal Manager responded.

“The municipality is aware of the above mentioned water leak at the corner of Arras and Smuts street behind the Cultural Centre. It is true that the pipe has been leaking for quite some time now however pipe bursts are prioritised in relation to water leaks due to the shortage of resources. The municipality has since appointed an external service provider to attend to the problem. The leak at cultural centre is very complex as it comprises of fire fighting system within the building, underground water and leaking potable water piped system. Generally the existing system is very old with continuous leaks which resulted in the flooding of stage sumps. The submersible pumps are out of operation hence the system could not daylight into the storm water system but on the street. The appointed service provider is addressing some of the above mentioned challenges but a long term plan is to replace the entire system,”

he said.

He added

“Moving forward and considering the level of Witbank Dam and level two water restrictions the municipality has since gone out on tender to appoint a panel of service providers to assist in repairing and attending to all reported water leaks and replacement of stolen water meters. The intention for going on tender is to address the backlogs of all visible leaks, installation/replacement of water metres and improvement of turnaround time.”