Residents in Garsfontein are still battling with water leaks and water meter problems.
About two weeks ago, Ben Oosthuizen noticed water pouring out of the island between Garsfontein Road and Mendelsohn Street, where he lives.
“The water was spurting five meters into the air. I couldn’t believe how much water was coming out of that burst pipe,” he said.
“Tshwane metro came by a few days later to evaluate the damage, but merely placed some rocks onto the broken pipe and left. They haven’t returned since.”
Now, said Oosthuizen, the clean water was still running down the street, although less conspicuous.
Another resident, Joel Quintel, has been struggling with a faulty water meter for months.
“I noticed that my water bill was increasing slightly every month and when I examined my water meter, I noticed it was running even when I was not using any water,” Quintel said.
“Then 12 days ago, I turned off the water myself and asked Tshwane metro to repair the faulty meter.”
Quintel said the metro promised to send someone, but no one has turned up.
“We were without water for the entire Easter weekend due to this problem, yet no one has come out to evaluate the problem.”
In a recent media statement, Democratic Alliance councillor Bruce Lee said the metro did not have adequate resources.
“The water infrastructure maintenance store in region 2 is run by a single lady with no computer equipment or network access. Everything is recorded by hand,” Lee said.
“The department of water has been pleading with Tshwane’s IT department to install computer equipment and provide network access for the past two years but is met with silly responses like there are currently no IT tenders issued. This is why a burst water pipe can sometimes take days before it is repaired.”
Tshwane metro was not available for comment about these complaints.
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