Harrower Road awash — but it’s not a leak

Water pouring along Harrower and Lancaster roads in North End around the municipal depot has prompted despairing posts on social media, but, the good news is it’s not a leak.

Nelson Mandela Bay municipality engineering and infrastructure executive director Joseph Tsatsire said on Thursday morning the water was from the boreholes being sunk next to Glendinningvale, Fort Nottingham and Fairview reservoirs.

“There is a process called test pumping that needs to take place so the contractor can check the volume that can be extracted and that is what has been happening,” Tsatsire said.

“They’ve been pushing the water into the stormwater system and because there’s so much of it and also because there are some blockages in the system it’s popping out here in North End.

“So I just want to emphasise it is not from a leak.”

He said the situation was nevertheless problematic as the deluge could start damaging road infrastructure.

“So to address the immediate problem we have called on them to stop the test pumping.

“There is already water in the system that must push through, but the overflow will immediately start subsiding.

“While that is happening we are working out what alternative we have for this test pump water.

“As an interim partial solution, we are extending an invitation to all construction companies and anyone else who needs raw water to come and collect for free from the borehole sites at Glendinningvale reservoir, Fort Nottingham reservoir next to the Mount Road police station, and Fairview reservoir on the hill above the road between Greenacres and Mercantile Hospital.”

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