POLOKWANE – Westenburg residents say they are frustrated and annoyed with the Polokwane Municipality.
Residents in certain parts of Westenburg were left without water after a water pipe burst in Southon Street at about 23:00 Monday night.
Households in Southon, Anderson, Verveen, Kennedy, Coverdale, parts of Ben Harris and Buys Streets were affected by this.
According to the residents less than two weeks ago the same water pipe burst and the municipality came to repair it, but now it is broken again.
When Review was at the scene on Tuesday, water was streaming down Southon and Anderson Streets like a river.
In Southon Street pedestrians used bricks to make a bridge for them to cross the road, because there was too much water in the street for them to walk.
Lukather Lukas, who lives in Anderson Street, says the municipality expects residents to use water sparingly, but they do not respond quickly when residents report water leakages or water pipe bursts.
“The water pipe burst last night (Monday) at 23:00. We called the municipality, but they only arrived this morning at about 08:00. Thousands of litres of water were wasted in the mean time. About two weeks ago the same pipe burst. Why didn’t they fix the pipe properly then? Now we have to be without water for another day because they didn’t do a proper job the first time,” Lukas said frustrated.
Matshidiso Mothapo, municipal spokesperson, said according to their information the call about the burst water pipe was received in the morning and a team was deployed immediately to stop the water and fix the damaged pipe.
“A bigger portion of the asbestos pipe had to be replaced and work was completed and water opened to serve the affected area,” Mothapo explained.
He said the claim that residents called earlier had been forwarded to the relevant department to investigate as the municipality could not afford to lose a drop of water due to negligence.
The municipality’s water and sanitation department can be reached at (015) 290 2376 to report any water related issues.
“Polokwane Municipality subscribes to batho pele principles and is geared towards improving its response time,” Mothapo said.
