Multiple burst pipes cause ongoing water woes in CBD

Residents in the city have been enduring ongoing water outages since the beginning of March, following multiple burst pipes in the CBD.

Along with frequent water outages that also resulted in closures at city schools, the burst pipes have created a number of sinkholes on main traffic routes in the CBD in recent weeks.

After causing much havoc with traffic last week, Msunduzi Municipality has confirmed three sinkholes have been attended to in the CBD.

Acting city spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize said that a water pipe burst on the corner of Greyling Street and Chief Albert Luthuli Street resulted in two other burst pipes in the city.

“The burst water pipe was repaired. However, two other burst water pipes in the vicinity of Peter Kerchoff Street and at the Victoria Road and Boshoff Street intersection, resulted in two more sinkholes.

“The municipality allocated most of its resources for the repairs of these burst pipes. Assistance was also sought from Umgeni Water in an effort to minimise further disruptions of businesses in terms of water supply,” said Mkhize. She added that the sinkholes have also been repaired.

Last week, another repair of a burst water pipe on the corner of Chief Albert Luthuli and Greyling streets had motorists manoeuvring onto the oncoming lane to avoid the cordoned off area. Repairs have since been completed.

Over the weekend, the Msunduzi Water Department provided water to residents in Athlone and surrounding areas with a water tanker that was situated in the vicinity of Coffeebox and Shell Garage, due to the ongoing water outages in the area.