Rusty pipes are leaking

NOT so long ago, communities were asked to heed the call to safeguard every single drop of water, because of the drought worsening in the district.

However residents of Mpenjati and Palm Beach areas believe that poor mainline pipe maintenance by Ugu District Municipality has caused thousands of litres of water to be wasted on a daily basis on a farm near Mpenjati.

Concerned residents say that this has been going on for years which might be the reason for water supply shortage in the Munster and Port Edward areas.

To make matters worse, residents say that these water leaks are not being repaired even though Ugu has known about them for a long time.

A few months ago, Ugu spokesman, France Zama said: “In an effort to ensure we maintain constant basic water supply, consumers residing in these areas are urged to reduce both commercial and residential consumption by 25 percent to ensure that we don’t reach a stage where we have no water in our system.”

“For me, water scarcity in the district, especially our area, remains a fact. For years, I have witnessed broken mainline pipes that leak every day without receiving attention,” said one resident.

The resident also added that these pipes were rusty and worn out, not only are they leaking but they are also damaging the roads. “Ugu owes us an explanation as to why we are asked to save water on a daily basis, yet they are the ones letting faulty pipes run. This is absurd, we have to comply with water restrictions yet the municipality is not complying.”

The Herald went to investigate massive swamps which had been created on the farm and the road as a result of these rusty, leaking pipes. An enquiry was sent to Ugu and the response received was that the matter would be investigated.

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