A CHRIS Hani Road businessman said he is at his wits’ end in trying to get the eThekwini Municipality to fix a water leak on an overground, temporary pipe that has been ongoing for months.

Dennis Boshoff said the pipe, which he thinks is a High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe, was initially installed as a way of bringing water to several businesses at the lower end of Chris Hani Road going towards the N2 freeway.

However, in Boshoff’s estimation, thousands of litres are now being wasted despite the matter being reported several times on the City’s automated WhatsApp line.

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He fears the pipe’s exposure to the elements and the significant water pressure on it may lead to the leak worsening and eventually leading to businesses lacking access to potable water.

“If you think this has been running 24 hours a day since April, and we are now in June, the volume of good, clean water wasted over this entire period is in the thousands of litres. I’ve done as much as I can to report the matter. After several reference numbers the matter remains unresolved,” he said.

Boshoff explained this all started in 2024 when several units within the building where he works were buying water due to no water connection.

“The temporary overground pipe was put in I presume because of the construction and excavation on Old North Coast Road. The first leak we discovered on this pipe which runs behind our business, on the river side, was in 2025. I think someone thought it was an electrical pipe and took a swing at it with a knife or badza (hoe) and they nicked it. The City then fixed it but with the pipe being in the sun all day, another leak has appeared and it has worsened. I’ve reported the matter in February, March, April and then again in June.

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“I don’t think this pipe is built to be exposed to the elements. I suspect this should be an underground HDPE pipe which means it’s supposed to be in a conduit underground. This leak is wasting fresh water, which is problematic as we are all trying to conserve and minimise water usage. I’ve reported the matter several times and my final follow-up was on June 1 to which I still received the reply that they were working on the problem,” he said.

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