IN recent weeks major water pipe bursts caused thousands of rand worth of damage as they flooded homes and a local school in uMhlanga.

The area of concern involves three roads, Harrier Crescent, Mendoza Drive and Gunda Crescent.

Residents have called it a burst crisis with seven incidents reported in the last few weeks. They have called for the replacement of the existing asbestos cement (AC) pipes with new PVC pipes.

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Mendoza Drive resident, Loopy Maguire, whose property was flooded for a second time, said she is now concerned about the stability of the bank outside her home.

Municipal teams arrived six and a half hours later to switch the water off but by then the water had caused some damage to Maguire’s garden.

“Fortunately my husband was up to go to the loo and he heard the rushing water. Having gone through this before in September 2024, where our home was flooded, causing more than R480 000 worth of damage, we knew what we had to do. We rolled up carpets, moved furniture and began digging trenches. You have to divert the water away from your home and because we are below road level, a neighbour, Mark Hultzer, brought sandbags to put around the burst and our home. We also used wooden boards at the bottom of the fence to stop the water from coming in,” she said.

Maguire said she expects another burst to occur and cause more damage to her home if the existing pipeline isn’t replaced.

“Because of all the joins I expect the next burst to occur just outside the main entrance to our home. What is concerning is these bursts are escalating in frequency, particularly on Mendoza Place and Gunda Crescent. In the last two weeks we’ve had one every second day,” she said.

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Residents’ Association and acting chairperson of Upper Umhlanga Security Trust, also voiced her concern over the bursts. “Surely this patchwork repair work must be more costly because the eThekwini Municipality has to keep digging up sections to put in a new join. There are thousands of litres of water flowing into properties. On Heritage Day weekend Atholton Primary School, which is below Mendoza Place, was flooded because of a burst pipe. The whole system is under pressure and it is very dangerous. Our home has also been flooded a few years ago,” she said.

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