Despite several posts from local politicians urging residents of Tshwane to immediately report water leaks and pledging to immediately attend to water leak complaints, water leaks in the Laudium/Erasmia area remain unattended to for months.
In one of the latest complaints received from residents concerning water leaks, residents of Emerald Str complained to the Laudium Sun about clean water leaking for almost two months from seemingly a leaking underground water pipe. The frustrated residents said that clean water has been gushing from a manhole on Emerald Str and that despite making several calls to the Council and the Councillor complaining about the water leak, the problem still persists since December, about two months on. Concerned Emerald Street resident, Jayesh Kallan told the Laudium Sun, “The continuous water leak from the manhole since the beginning of December, is causing a big problem. There is a lot of water running down the street, with litres and litres being wasted, and besides the water being wasted, it is even dangerous to walk there, as one could easily slip, fall and get hurt. Unfortunately those in charge at the Council are not taking the leak seriously, despite multiple complaints from the community living in the area. It is now about two months and the leak has still not been fixed. It needs to be fixed as soon as possible. So much water is being wasted, but in the meantime, Councillor Naeem Patel sends out daily messages asking us to save water. We often face problems with water cuts or technical issues when the Council cuts off our water supply. The Council could save a lot of water by fixing this leaking problem coming out from the manhole. They really need to take this seriously as this is sheer wastage. I followed up on this matter with the PR Councillor in our area, Prajay Ramjee, after getting no assistance from Cllr Naeem Patel. Prajay seemed to be very active at first, and said that he escalated our complaint, but the leaking problem has still not been fixed.”
Another resident of Emerald Street, Sabithree Pillay told the Laudium Sun, “We reported the water leak issue to the Council office back in December last year, but the leak from the manhole still hasn’t been fixed. We’ve raised this issue many times, but every time we report it, the Council ignores us. Precious water is being wasted, yet every time the water reservoir runs dry, the Councillor quickly sends us a message telling us to save water and use it sparingly. But what about the water that has been leaking and wasting for months? No one from the Council has come to fix it.” Najma Ebrahim also of Emerald Street told the Laudium Sun, “We are so tired of this manhole water leak, but no one from the Council has even come to check it since last December. We are fed up with this poor service from the Council. I wanted to bring this issue to Laudium Sun and was on my way to your office, but I thank the Almighty for sending you guys from the Laudium Sun to my doorstep as a blessing. Now I can relax knowing that the Laudium Sun always works for the community and will follow up on our complaints.”
In response, Councillor Naeem Patel said, “The leak from the manhole on Emerald Street was previously repaired by the Council in November. But, in December a new leak developed. Unfortunately, this new issue was not reported to my office, and no reference number was provided. I will nevertheless follow up on this matter.”
Cllr Patel urged residents to obtain a reference number when reporting faults to the Council so as to make it easier for him to escalate the complaint, should it not have been attended to.