Burst pipes affect communities throughout the year
WELTEVREDEN PARK – Residents make an effort throughout the year to lodge complaints regarding water leakages and burst pipes in their communities.
Residents from Roodepoort faced a number of challenges throughout the year concerning burst pipes and water leaks. Here are the two most-significant stories in this regard in 2015.
A resident’s son alerted her in the evening of 7 July about a fountain of water that she described as being higher than her wall. It came from a burst pipe across the street on Without Avenue in Weltevreden Park. She alerted Joburg Water to report the matter but was told they were offline and nothing could be done. Her husband also called Joburg Water in the morning and was assured by a call-centre agent that someone would be sent out immediately. By 1pm a Joburg Water maintenance truck arrived to sort out the problem. Their house was the only one out of water.
Weltevreden Park residents were alarmed to notice a deep hole that took up the majority of one lane on Wildebraam Street. Ward 126 Councillor Mike Tonkin said a stream of water flowing out of the hole caused it to widen and create other potholes in the road downhill. “There is some disagreement between Joburg Water and the Joburg Roads Agency as to who is responsible – the damage seems to be caused by a burst pipe. Even if Joburg Water caused it, the JRA is responsible for repairing it. Mororists are being put in danger and damage to their vehicles is being done,” Councillor Tonkin said. JRA spokesperson Bertha Peters-Scheepers said the agency’s inspector was on site to investigate the trench. They found that it had been excavated by the Joburg Water Hamberg depot. “We will be following up with them regarding progress as well as finalisation so that the road can be reinstated,” Peters-Scheepers said.
