Water ‘shock’ for residents
RESIDENTS in Veldenvlei's Cycad road are extremely concerned by what they say feels like an electrical current flowing through their household taps - an occurrence that began a month ago.
‘At first it was only a minor problem, but it has reached the point where I have to turn on the shower with towels over my hands, and I can still feel tingling in my hands afterwards,’ said affected resident Lindy Riekert.
‘My children have even become afraid to brush their teeth or turn on our taps for anything.’
South African households should receive a consistent voltage of between 220 and 240 volts, however, the reading at the Riekerts' household sits below 170 for the majority of the time, causing issues with their appliances.
'The problem could be linked to a faulty earth connection on the municipal line, causing current to travel through the metal pipes in the houses on the street,' said a highly-qualified electrician who asked not to be named.
The municipality has reportedly tried to attend to the problem on multiple occasions, to no avail.
The family was subsequently informed by the municipality that a contractor would need to be hired to rectify the issue, which could take an extended period of time.
‘Whenever the municipality comes to
fix these issues, their solution only lasts two days before it starts all over again,’ continued Riekert.
‘Many of our appliances are breaking, and it is not fair for us to have to foot the bill when it is the municipality’s responsibility to ensure their services are provided correctly.’
Councillor Henning de Wet of ward 3, who has put the family in contact with the municipal manager, said, ‘Continuous failures to urgently resolve the matter could have fatal consequences for the residents as it has taken more than a month for the municipality to resolve this fault.’