Burst pipe has Amalinda residents feeling desperate

AMALINDA residents are up in arms over an ailing water pipe that leaves homes without water on a regular basis.

They say that in the year that they have lived with the problem, the municipality simply replaces the burst section of the pipe. It holds good for a few weeks until the same problem flares further down Shetland road.

Resident Casey Faught, 29, who has a three-month-old son, said it becomes difficult when the water is cut.

“It feels like we are without water every month. That’s how often it happens on our road.

“It is frustrating because we have to wash and sterilise our baby’s bottles, so then we would have to buy bottled water which can become expensive.

“And sometimes we have to scoop up water from the swimming pool to flush the toilets,” Faught said.

She added that while municipal workers would fix a small part of the pipe, there appeared to be a pressure problem.

“They even dig up people’s driveways and leave such a big mess behind, which the home owners need to fix.”

When the Daily Dispatch visited the affected area, municipal workers were busy closing the pipe trench after having repaired the problem area.

Sandra Beard, 69, whose driveway was dug up during a previous repair, also described how her household would have to use swimming pool water to flush the toilets. “It becomes such a mess. “Our driveway stayed like that [dug up] for three weeks and then it becomes our problem to fix it.

“They even took out my tree on my lawn, which wasn’t even in the way of their work.

“It is a whole day story when they fix the pipe and in the meantime the whole road is left without water.

“But luckily we have a pool so we can just get water from it to flush the toilets at least,” Beard said.

The residents say the water supply was cut off after 7am on Monday and only came back on after 4pm.

A municipal worker on site, who did not provide his name because he is not permitted to speak to the media, said they were tasked with replacing the old asbestos pipes with plastic ones as a way to repair the affected part.

Buffalo City Metro spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said the water pipe was on the list to be repaired.

“There have been several water bursts in Shetland Road over the years, with the latest occurring on Monday.

“However, consumers have never been without water for periods longer than 12 hours, contrary to what is being claimed that the consumers have been without water for more than two days.

“There have been no more bursts in Shetland Road than any other pipe that needs to be replaced in the city.

“Shetland Road is on the list for pipe replacements for the next financial year, or as soon as the budget is made available,” Cindi said. —