“You can go without electricity, but no one can afford to go without water,” Strelitzia Park neighbourhood watch administrator Marietjie Holtshauzen says.
Large parts of Uitenhage’s Strelitzia Park and Vanes Estate suburbs have been battling for about four days due to burst water pipes.
Adding to the problem, the water supply line valves were allegedly left closed for hours after the burst pipes were repaired. Holtshauzen said she had been inundated with messages from residents who said they urgently needed access to water for health reasons, hygiene and feeding infants.
The outage had begun on Wednesday, Holsthauzen said, with supply being on and off until Saturday.
However, at midnight on Saturday, another pipe reportedly burst in Gardenia Drive, leaving more residents without water on Sunday.
“The people are very upset.
“Many of the residents have visitors from Johannesburg and Cape Town and all over.
“I got complaints from people with babies, an old lady who has cancer and people with stomach problems.
“It’s difficult. Where must they get water from?
“People need to take their babies and children to somebody else’s house to bath them at night. It is just very inconvenient,” Holtshauzen said.
Ward councillor Pieter Terblanche said a contractor assigned by the municipality had allegedly left the supply line valves closed after doing maintenance and repair work.
Metro officials had then been dispatched to investigate where the valves had been closed in the affected area to restore water supply.
“The major bursts were repaired in the first two days.
“The issue is that contractors are assigned to repair the burst pipes and water leaks.
“They do the work and then they leave without reopening the valves. The people then start complaining that there is no water. It’s then difficult for the metro officials to establish which valves were left closed.
“It becomes a hunting expedition.”
Terblanche said that by Saturday afternoon most of the water supply had been restored.
However, the pipe that burst in the early hours of Sunday was still being worked on.
Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki confirmed that the water disruption in Uitenhage was due to a failed water main and that water tankers were being provided to the affected areas.
He said he had not been made aware of valves being left closed by the contractors.
“The areas affected were Tambo Village, Vanes Estate, Rosedale and surrounding areas,” he said.
The contractor and maintenance teams were still on site by Sunday afternoon, Mniki said.
According to Holtshauzen, Vanes Estate was the only area to receive water from the tankers.