Retha Kessell, West Beach
I am, together with all the residents in Radar Road, disgusted in the way our precious water has been wasted for days now and the municipality reckons it is not their problem.
On Friday morning, October 5, I noticed the road was soaked and clear water was bubbling out of a manhole on the opposite side of the street.
The owner nearest to the manhole reported it early in the morning to the municipality and again in the evening, and so did I.
I wasted all my airtime as I was transferred to four different people and every time I was informed I am at the wrong department.
The municipality arrived just before 9pm just to say it was not for the municipality to fix but rather Telkom as they had cut a pipe while laying internet cables.
So they left, not fixing anything, water still running out into the road.
I do not understand why the City hits us in West Beach with R100 per month extra for a 20mm pipe. My son in Edgemead pays R56 for a 15mm pipe and they do not deliver a service with a water crisis. It’s okay to waste water like this and we the residents must pay phenomenal tariffs for water and we are all saving water.
I’m sure if I had to water my garden with a hosepipe for four days I will get a hefty fine. It really hurt me to see all this water soaking the grass on the pavement and filling up the road. The birds thought it’s Christmas and were bathing merrily.
On Monday afternoon, the municipality was here to fix the leak but the guy said his supervisor would have to contact the contractors who had done the internet cables.
Now there’s leaks at another two manholes of which I took photos.
The municipality was here again on Wednesday late afternoon, so no leaks this morning so far.
I’ve noticed they’ve put red and white tape around a manhole further down the road so hopefully they are coming back.
Spokesperson for the City of Cape Town, Luthando Tyhalibongo, responds:
The City is aware of this leak and has been attending to it. The delay in completing this repair work was due to the fact that the leak was passing through fibre ducts and surfaced on the opposite lawn. The teams excavated and could not find the leak. After further investigations, the leak was traced to the connection of the adjacent complex.
The existing connection was only exposed on Wednesday October 10, thus after much investigation. The concrete slab was lifted to get to the leak and we can confirm that the repair work was done.