The most affected house was the Home of Hope Place of Safety; an orphanage home that houses children under the care of Ms Maria Elkins.
Ms Elkins alleged that the water gushing from the pipe damaged her roof, carpets, wardrobe and other things. What started as a pipe leak in the street lead to municipal workers accidentally damaging the main water while trying to fix the problem.
The workers damaged the main water supply to Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium. The pipe burst on Thursday, March 13 during the night. The residents have been without water from the previous day. Other houses were affected as well.
“My roof was damaged; carpets, wardrobe, furniture, tiles, children schoolbooks, clothes, important documents and other items inside the house were badly damaged by the gushing water from the pipe. My house has cracks now and my cars windscreen has cracks as well. I was promised by the municipal officials that damaged to my house will be fixed, but that has not happened,” explained Ms Elkins.
Ms Elkins says two months has passed since the promise was made and nothing has happened and she does not know where to turn for help. Ms Elkins says she was disappointed by the treatment she has received from the council. Ms Elkins also claimed that she suffered emotional trauma together with ‘her’ children. She also alleged that she also met the city administrator, Mr Theo Van Vuuren to make him aware of the situation.
Ms Elkins would like to thank family members, friends, Pastor Glen Makam and church members for their care and support during the past months. She also said Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium provided groceries for them after the pipe burst.
Communication manager Mr Lebo Mofokeng and no response was received yet.
