MOOI RIVER RESIDENTS UNHAPPY ABOUT OVERFLOWING RESERVOIRS

Townview residents in Mooi River say they are tired of staying in wet houses because of an overflowing reservoir.

They told Capital Newspapers that the problem started about three years ago. When the reservoir starts overflowing, the water runs into their houses, they said.

One resident said: “The reservoir is always overflowing and the water that comes from there runs straight into my house. It happens every night. I have to wake up at night and use a bucket to take the water out and mop.

“If it happens that I fall asleep, I will wake up in the morning and the water will be all over the house. My house is damaged and the furniture is getting worse each day, this is tiring.”

She said she has been reporting the issue since it started and does not know what to do now.

“… What makes matters worse is that my taps are dry, yet there is water that is just overflowing and no one is doing anything about it. I also have children in the house and we have electricity, what if this water touches the electricity?”

She said all she wants is for the municipality to fix the problem.

“I do not even know if I will be allowed to claim for anything that has been damaged in my house.”

Princess Mlaba said they have even tried to stop the water by blocking it off with stones at the home, but this has not worked.

“The bottom half of my house wall is always wet and it is only a matter of time before it starts cracking. We are even scared of moving the furniture around the house because it might just break into pieces,” she added.

Sphamandla Dladla has dug a small trench in an effort to redirect the water. “That plan is working for now, but the yard is always wet and it is not fair to us,” he said.

The uMgungundlovu District Municipality did not get back to Capital Newspapers with a comment at the time of publication.