MALVERN residents have voiced frustration over a water leak on Smuts Road that has been gushing clean water for nearly three weeks.

According to concerned residents, the leak has resulted in thousands of litres of treated water being wasted daily, despite numerous reports to the municipality.

“The washing that used to take 46 minutes now takes almost two hours because the water pressure is so low,” said a resident, Theo Botha.

He said the matter has been reported several times and reference numbers have been issued, but no repairs have been carried out.

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“We are constantly being told to use water sparingly, and some areas have no water at all, yet here we have clean water gushing out day and night and nothing is being done,” said another resident, Rose Rutlidge.

“Water is a luxury these days. How many litres have been wasted here already?” asked Rutlidge.

The residents told the Queensburgh News that the only response they have received so far was from water department workers who stopped for a short while when driving past the site.

“They had a look and said they would come back, but nobody returned,” said Botha.

He said they were informed that the municipality has a shortage of plumbers and that available teams are attending only to priority cases.

“We were told there are no plumbers and the few that are available only respond to priority cases. But this is beyond priority. Thousands of litres of water are being wasted every day,” said the frustrated residents.

According to Rutlidge, when the leak first appeared, water was squirting above her wall before subsiding into a constant flow.

“When it first happened, the water shot up above the wall for a while. Since then it has just been bubbling continuously. I am worried it will cause severe damage. My wall could collapse. If that happens, who is going to fix it?” she asked.

Ward 63 councillor Chris van den Berg confirmed that the burst water pipe on Smuts Road is a concern and said he has been escalating the matter daily.

He said the delays are caused by ongoing challenges within the city’s repair system.

“The contractor plumbers have not been paid and have not been called in. As a result, the backlog is growing. It is a challenge across the city,” he said.

According to the councillor, the last reported figure indicated that approximately 10 000 complaints relating to burst water pipes were still awaiting attention.

“It feels like I am hitting my head against a brick wall. As soon as one burst is repaired, more are reported. In my area alone, there are between 30 and 40 cases, and the number keeps growing. It is frustrating beyond words but I will keep on fighting every day until it is resolved,” he said.

“This is happening across the city. At the moment it is largely the permanent municipal plumbers who are carrying the workload, and the backlog continues to grow,” he said.

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