Conrad Drive in Blairgowrie has become a place of frustration and inconvenience after it experienced eight water pipe bursts in less than two weeks. Pedestrians and motorists in the area find themselves faced with water flowing down the street, disrupting daily life and posing safety hazards.
Ward 102 councillor Lucinda Harman expressed her frustration over the number of pipe bursts, highlighting the toll it’s taking on the community. “There have been eight bursts in under two weeks. Two residents have been reporting [the issue] for two weeks solidly and from before Christmas. This is a constant issue that doesn’t get resolved with a long-term solution.”
The effects of the water are more than inconvenient – Harman explained that it is impacting the local businesses on the road. “It affects businesses in the area, their parking outside is damaged so cars cannot park there. There will be a loss of business in the area.”
Natasha Ndlovu from Motherland Coffee explained that although the bursts get repaired, they burst again. “A pipe burst up the road and Johannesburg Water came to fix it. Not long after that, the pipe burst again. I think that it is a pressure problem because they fix it and it just bursts open again. I think they just need to take everything out and redo it.”
Ndlovu explained that business operations are affected by the bursts. “The shop became very quiet when water was flowing. It was a struggle for customers to enter the shop. There were large volumes of water flowing there and that made it dangerous for the customers. The shop would also become muddy and nobody wants to have food in a muddy place.”
Matthew Ballenden from Fresh Earth agreed with Ndlovu saying that the gaping hole in the business parking lot has been causing a lot of frustration. “One or two guys have gotten their cars stuck in the hole. It gets muddy and dirty here and it just looks ugly. It’s devastating.”
Outside of damaging infrastructure, the water pipe bursts have resulted in disruptions to water supply for residents along Wendy, Hillcrest, and Conrad Drive, compounding the challenges faced by the community.
Harman also raised concerns about the quality of repairs carried out by Johannesburg Water and JRA. “The repaired areas are not being backfilled correctly by Johannesburg Water and JRA is not doing their part in reinstatements. So, it affects tyres and chassis and is a danger for road users. It causes unnecessary backup of traffic at peak hours with Conrad Drive being a thoroughfare.”
Nolwazi Dhlamini, a spokesperson for Johannesburg Water, said that the entity is following up on the issues on Conrad. Their response will be published once it is made available.”
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