Varsity Drive residents fork out for municipal leaks to save homes
PERSISTENT water leaks have cost Reservoir Hills residents thousands of rand in maintenance costs for their damp properties.
Varsity Drive residents have blamed the ethekwini Municipality for poor maintenance.
About four residents on the same road were experiencing similar issues, with two who claimed to have paid from their own pockets to safeguard their properties.
Yet the problem still persists, despite their efforts. They believe that the main pipe in their neighbourhood, since last year, has needed major repair but the municipality has failed to acknowledge the problem.
Resident Vijay Jagannath built a wall behind his house to prevent water from seeping into the main building.
However, the wall has cracked already because of the leaking pipe.
He said the problem started last July, when his backyard became waterlogged. He contacted the city.
“They told me there was nothing wrong with the pipes, but I have been living here for the past 21 years and we have never had this. Why now?” he asked. To protect his driveway, Jagannath had to fit a new piping system to divert the water from flowing into his house.
“I have paid more than R10 000 to try to avoid major damage to my house, on top of the levies we pay to our council.
“We told them we suspected the pipe was too old and they must send a good surveyor to solve this problem that is costing us so much. It seems like the municipality has given up on us or is it the norm to expect the problem to disappear?” he asked.
His neighbour, Adam Dawood, also faced the same problem.
He said their issue was a major one, but the city was failing to address it properly.
“You could see that even our road was wet most of the time. It clearly shows that the main pipe has a problem.
“We have paid so much already and this is steadily damaging our houses and it’s going to affect the property value,” said Dawood.
A few houses away lives Shameen Bhola, who was also experiencing water leaks. Just outside her gate, the ground was waterlogged. She said she noticed the problem when the municipality official installed the second water restrictions.
“We are not against the restrictions. If you come into my house, you can see how slow the water runs, while the road is always wet. It has been like this for a week and no one is attending to our problem, despite it having been reported.
“It’s confusing that we have been told to save water by 15%, yet water flows throughout the day on our roads. Someone needs to account for this,” she said.
ethekwini Municipality spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said: “A team of technicians has been sent to investigate the matter.”
She added that there were factors that might lead to delays in fixing water leaks. “Depending on the terrain, tracing a leak can be complicated, as the water may surface in a particular area, when the source may be deep. Burst pipes are prioritised so that the leak can be isolated quicker to avoid wastage of water.”