Illegal water connection angers Oslo Beach resident
According to the resident, the Ugu plumber seemed uninterested and unwilling to do anything about the issue.
Illegal water connections have been an ongoing issue within the Ugu District.
An displeased Oslo Beach resident said there was such a connection affecting his property, and suspected it had been in place for some years.
The greenery and shrubs in the area provide excellent coverage for the illegal connection.
The connection was discovered on January 13 this year when Ugu was called out to fix a leak at the site of the illegal connection.
The plumber discovered the connection, which bypasses their own water meter, and disrupts the neighbouring water supply.
The resident tried to contact the property owner, but was told that he is currently in jail.
According to the resident, the Ugu plumber seemed uninterested and unwilling to do anything about the issue.
Eventually, he fixed the fault and disconnected the illegal connection.
“The issue with illegal water connections is that once disconnected, it can easily be reconnected. Permanent fixes need to put in place for the issue to be entirely resolved,” said the resident.
A week later on January 20, there was another leak in the same place and Ugu was called out again by the resident.
This time a different plumber arrived and found that the first repair had been done poorly, resulting in it leaking again.
According to the resident, this plumber also did not commit to doing anything permanent about the illegal connection and merely disconnected it again.
The resident said that they have sent emails to Ugu but had received no response.
On January 23, the resident called Ugu again as low water pressure was being experienced.
It was the same plumber who came out the second time but, again no permanent solution was provided.
The resident expressed frustration and concern as, three callouts later, Ugu had done nothing about this issue.
“We pay for those who are stealing and nothing is done about it,” he said.
He further questioned how it was that Ugu could pick up on suspicious activity.
“Surely they can see that some meters reflect zero to minimum usage,” he said.
In 2015, Ugu issued a media statement where it said it planned to adopt its illegal connections policy.
“With this policy in place, municipal inspectors have been assigned to enforce the policy provisions to those properties that are in transgression of the municipal water connection policy,” said Mr Zama at the time.
A response from Ugu is still awaited.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like the South Coast Herald’s Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
