The residents of Winklespruit and Warner Beach on the South Coast are beyond frustrated with the constant intermittent water supply issues that they have had to endure, for just over a month, as the costs of damages to their property continues to mount as a result of water leaks.
Residents have taken to social media to voice their anger and frustration after their complaints to the eThekwini Municipality have fallen on deaf ears over the various water outages in Oceanview Road and Kingsway and Merrit Road intersection in Winklespruit. Airing their grievances on social media, a Warner Beach resident wrote on Facebook saying: “Good morning from Pothole Beach. Water leak at burst pipe reported and this morning we have a fountain. Please note we have placed a traffic cone in a huge pothole that has formed.” (sic)
Another resident wrote: “I am disgusted by the state of our roads in what is supposed to be a tourist destination. Someone please intervene.” According to Ward 97 Councillor Andre Beetge, municipal officials have assessed the areas of concern and contractors have already begun repairs to the various sites. Posting on the eThekwini Ward 97 Forum, Cllr Beetge said the system is so decrepit that when one section is repaired, another section collapses. At first, residents were led to believe that the water disruptions were as a result of optic fibre contractors digging trenches in the area, until it was found, after investigations by officials, that the infrastructure on the specific roads had not been maintained and as a result there has been multiple water pipe leaks and in many cases, fountains of water gushing up onto roads.
According to Cllr Beegte, it is believed that there was a water leak between the old asbestos-cement (AC) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping on Oceanview Road. Despite earlier assumptions that the leak resulted from new infrastructure, exposing the problem actually confirmed that water was leaking from the coupling between the old type AC pipe and a newer PVC pipe. “The streets and areas of concern have since been isolated so that plumbers can attempt a safe and secure re-join which will, in turn, re-establish water supply to the affected areas. It is precisely these types of problems that initiated and subsequently prompted the municipality to investigate and eventually budget for a system replacement in Winklespruit and Warner Beach which if done correctly, should eliminate or reduce future water issues in the area.” In his updates, Cllr Beegte said the current repairs will be a temporary solution as the new infrastructure, which has sparked numerous contentious conversations on community forums, has been scheduled to be completed within a matter of days. He said this will be followed up by a massive clean-up effort and the complete reinstatement of services will commence.
An Oceanview resident said she will believe it when she sees it after pipe repairs last week resulted in a second burst just a few metres down the road, apparently due to pressure valve issues. Oceanview Road resident, Clark Smith, said the main water valves were closed during the repair and they were asked to switch off their geysers until the repairs were concluded. Smith said when the water supply was restored, he switched on the geyser only to find that the water had stopped again just a few hours later. “By this time, I was asleep only to be awoken by droplets of water coming from my ceiling above my bed. My wife and I got out of bed only to find that the pressure valve on my geyser had given way which caused a leak in our ceiling.” The furious resident went on to say that he has had to replace his geyser twice in a month and will now need to deal with the mould that has accumulated on his ceiling and walls. “It has become a costly affair. I am footing the bill for their incompetence. My home is damaged because of the water leak.” While the municipality works on the repairs, residents have been encouraged to make use of the water tankers that will be dispatched to the affected areas so that residents can fill up on drinking water and water for other flushing purposes. The municipality had yet to respond by the time of print.
