Residents in the central business district and residential areas in Estcourt had yet another waterless weekend.

The cause, says Uthukela District Municipality, was due to a huge pile of material excavated from the prison site that was dumped on top of the pumping main line.

The pressure from the dumped material caused a pipe burst on the pumping line, which provides water to the Richmond Road Reservoir.

“We had been battling the whole day on Saturday with our TLB, which was too small for this work. We managed to get an excavator, which cleared some of the stockpile away but could not complete the work as anticipated. Our reservoirs were empty by Sunday morning,” commented Uthukela District Municipality’s spokesperson Jabulani Mkhonza.

Since then the pipe has been repaired and water is being pumped to the reservoir.

While some areas are receiving water, Mr Mkhonza says that he cannot give an accurate answer as to when water supply to other areas will be restored.

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