Trench becomes a deep concern for Montclair family
The resident said the hole was dug up to address the pipe issue over three weeks ago, however, this has instead caused more problems.
FOR a week, a family in Montclair was unable to drive out of their property after their driveway had collapsed into a deep trench.
What began as an underground pipe leak is now a deep hole which has, along with the driveway, damaged a portion of Fairbridge Road.
Resident, Lily King, said the hole was dug up to address the pipe issue over three weeks ago, however, this has instead caused more problems.
“We were not able to go to work for a whole week until they backfilled a little piece to complete our driveway. We were able to drive out for one day and the next day they excavated and took it all away. Now we don’t park the bakkie that we use for work inside the premises, we’ve had to ask the neighbours to park in their yard,” she said.
When water fills up to the top, Lily said, municipal workers, pump it out and leave. When she questions them about their progress, most are not always forthcoming while others totally ignore her.
She said her other concern was for motorists who drive past, more especially at night but the area has since been cordoned off.
“The hole keeps getting bigger and how much bigger is it going to get? The road is also breaking away. The hole is very close to the light pole which is also undermined. It is unbelievable.”
“There are at least are four holes on the pipe. I was advised that the workers are waiting for stock of pipe bandages, which is like a thin metal sheet that goes over the pipe that they then tighten on the outside. But every time they’ve done it, something else goes wrong and we’re now waiting for that bandage. Surely you cannot leave things like this,” she added.
Ward 64 councillor, Gavin Hegter, said the pipe has been repaired a number of times but is still leaking. He has escalated the issue with the department head asking for “an urgent response”.
“The pipe is a 500mm main that supplies the area. The information I have received unofficially is that the city is waiting for fittings from Johannesburg.”
“This is a clear indication of the mess the city finds itself in as this problem is not just unique to the water department. All service departments don’t have materials stocked up. This is why there are so many issues with water and street lights, there are no spares to effect repairs. We do not get any joy at all from the city as it is constantly failing residents,” he said.
A comment from eThekwini Municipality had not been received at the time of publication.
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