Residents frustrated over continuous pipe bursts in parts of town

Between May 15 and May 20, eight waterpipes burst, leaving residents angry and without water.

According to ward councillor Mark Trump, hundreds of residents in Krugersdorp North and the CBD were affected as a result.

This also includes schools that were left without water. He added that when a pipe gets repaired, another one bursts, with the latest burst in Pretoria Street. He suspects that when they repair a pipe, they do not check the pressure relief valves, which causes the other pipes to burst.

“Despite multiple inquiries from councillors and residents, the municipality has yet to respond to the ongoing water outage challenges in Krugersdorp North, which have been affecting Hoërskool Monument High School and hundreds of residents since May 15,” Trump said.

According to civil engineer Kallie Joubert, the pipes that keep bursting are old asbestos pipes that have reached the end of their lifespan.

“I suspect the reason these pipes keep bursting is due to the imbalance of pressure in the pipes. There might be strong pressure, the next moment weak, and when a spike of strong comes again, the pipes can burst,” he added.

Resident Debbie Pienaar added this has been affecting them for more than a year.

“Luckily we have a borehole, but we had to purchase a 1 000lt tank and pressure pump due to all the water cuts from the burst pipes. Besides the inconvenience of not having water, it causes structural damage. It weakens the foundation of our driveway and sidewalks, and when a pipe is repaired, they do not fill the holes they dug up. They just throw dirt in the holes, and leave all the debris on the sidewalk, where some of it has been there for longer than a year,” Pienaar said.

The Krugersdorp News reached out to Mogale City Local Municipality for comment on the matter last week and did not receive feedback at the time of publishing. Their feedback, however, will be published once received.