The ongoing water problem in Gerhardsville, (Ward 61), mainly due to a re-occuring burst pipe, remains a concern for residents living in the area, who have had enough of poor service from the Council and have now repaired the pipe themselves.
Residents say that the Tshwane Council has been turning a blind eye to several of their pleas to have the specific ongoing water problem resolved.
Resident, Caryn Adam, told the Laudium Sun, “There is a specific section, where the stretch of water pipe keeps on bursting and it seems that instead of the Council workers replacing the stretch of pipe, they keep on sort of ‘patching’ it up, only to find soon thereafter, that the water pipe bursts again, just near the repaired area. This is how it has been going on for a while now. I cannot understand why the Council does not just replace the stretch of piping, which seems to be worn out, instead of ‘patching’ it up each time. We need a permanent solution to the problem, as we cannot go on living like this, without water each time, for so many days, until the Council decides to come and repair the pipe, but only on a temporary basis.”
Many residents living in Gerhardsville (near Erasmia), who have complained to the Laudium Sun about the area having an ongoing water problem, say that they are totally fed up with the Council’s poor service delivery in their area and at times feel that the Council treats them as a “step child,” compared to areas such as Waterkloof and Menlyn.
Caryn added, “Recently we again did not have water, due to the water pipe bursting in the same area. So, from about two weeks back, on Tuesday Jan 17, we had no water. Despite many of us reporting the matter to the City of Tshwane (COT), they just turned a blind eye. The Council did not even send out water tankers to at least give residents some water and when we enquired, we were informed that the COT did not pay the service providers of the tankers. Finally, about 10 days later, on the 28th of Jan, when the Council repair team arrived, they did not have the correct clamp to fix the pipe, which made us all more than fed up. So we as a community decided to get involved with the repairs. Resident Johan Grobler made a clamp that fitted. Another member assisted with a generator to pump out the water gathered from the burst pipe, so that the repairs could be effected. All of us joined in with some even offering refreshments to those who were gathered there. Prior to this, we were without water from November 6 to November 15, 2022 and again on November 30, a leak was reported. You will recall that during December 2021, residents protested on the M26, due to having no water for 8 days, and previously we had been without water for 14 days. We are living in an agricultural and farming area, the animals also need water. This poor service from the COT is totally unacceptable. We sit without water almost every two months, because the Council either has no money to replace the pipes, or the workers prefer to rather come out more often, so that they earn overtime pay each time. Fortunately, those living in the area who have boreholes, assisted residents with water.”
Caryn thanked the community and the Gerhardsville Homeowners Association for always assisting, adding, “A huge thank you to all the residents who stood together to get this huge job done. It is amazing how a community can stand together and tackle issues such as these. A huge thank you also goes to our Ward Councillor, Naeem Patel and his assistant Shakeel Bhaktawer, who really gives us his all, when it comes to Council issues.”
