CMLM responds to Hazyview reservoirs issues
The City of Mbombela Local Municipality (CMLM) has responded to multiple complaints by local residents regarding two overflowing reservoirs in the area, saying it is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it.
These reservoirs are situated in Numbi Park and Vakansiedorp in town with residents saying they overflow into the roads and people’s driveways at least once a month. Numbi Park resident, Debbie Olivier said she had understood the problem to be with the automatic pump switch which had broken several months ago and that the reservoir needed to be switched off manually by municipal staff so that it did not overflow.
CMLM spokesperson, Joseph Ngala said the issue lay with the telemetry system (an automatic recording and transmission of data from remote sources to an IT system) that communicate with the “pumps when the reservoir is full”.
“This problem started when the service provider that was hired, wanted to change the whole system and we didn’t have budget for it,” said Ngala.
“So we requested him to restore the system as it had been before because the ball valves that control the flow were removed. We are having a dispute with the main contractor to get the matter resolved urgently, but we are working on it,” he said.
“On the other hand, the new Hazyview plant uses different software from the one used by the service provider hence the persistence of the problem.”
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Another resident, who asked not to be named, had said the water from the reservoir in Vakansiedorp had caused a massive pothole in her driveway that she had to fix at her own expense, but continuous leaks had already started eroding the repair, however, queries about this issue to the municipality were not responded to.
Olivier added that the overflowing reservoirs were not the only issue and that leaking and burst pipes were also a major problem for people living in town. Ngala said, “The community is urged to report the complaints to the municipal call centre on 013-759-9301/2/3/5/6/7/7.”
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Olivier said, however, that leaking pipes are reported as soon as someone in the community spots the issue, “but it takes them more than two weeks to start working on the problem, which is not even fixed”. “It then stands for another two week before being attended to, in the meantime water is being wasted,” she said.
