Pinetown pensioners face water-meter dilemma
The elderly couple have been without water for almost three weeks following theft of their water meter.
ASHLEY pensioners are feeling hopeless after being without water for almost three weeks.
Nonhlanhla Sotapu and her sickly husband, Theo, said they are clueless about what steps to take as the municipal workers have come on numerous occasions, but within hours, the pipe bursts again and they are left with water gushing out for hours.
This whole nightmare started after the theft of a water meter.
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Speaking to the Highway Mail, Nonhlanhla said their water meter was stolen on April 2.
“It was around 22:40, and I was still awake. I heard a noise. I quickly went to check on my husband, thinking he fell off the bed as he is sick. I found him sleeping soundly and checked around the house, and there was nothing out of the ordinary.”
The resident in Azalea Place said they were alerted by the neighbour in the early hours of the next morning that water was gushing out by their meter.
“Looking at the neighbour’s camera, we saw people pulling out the meter. Because of the thousands of litres that were being wasted, we also called a plumber who arrived and switched off the water.
“The municipal workers came out on Friday, replaced the meter, which had no valve, and within a few hours, the pipe burst. They returned the following day; I am not sure what they did, but barely three hours after they left, the water was pouring out.”
The couple said the water was left flowing out on Saturday afternoon and the whole of Sunday as the workers returned on Monday morning.
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“An hour later, we were left with a burst pipe. We called the plumber again who came out and put a valve, but the pipe burst again the following day. We do not know what to do anymore.
“We have not had water – this is the third week now. I have no choice but to go to friends’ houses and ask for water. I go around carrying 20 litres of water. My husband is not well, and he cannot assist with carrying the water,” said Nonhlanhla with a sigh.
The Sotapus appealed to the City to help resolve this matter.
The eThekwini Municipality was not available for comment by the time of publishing.
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