METRO MATTERS | Resident concerned over leaks in KwaNobuhle

A KwaNobuhle resident has voiced concerns over the clean water he says has been streaming down Gwali Street in KwaNobuhle for years.

Sakhumzi Mbaduli, 26, said he was concerned that Nelson Mandela Bay metro was battling a drought crisis yet clean water was running down the street.

“The leaks have been here for an inordinate amount of time and I would have expected them to be fixed by now,” Mbaduli said.

He said the issue had been reported telephonically.

Municipal workers had dug up the site but nothing had been done to fix the problem.

“Early last year when the leak started, municipal workers came and dug.

“We are not sure whether it’s a pipe that burst.

“They left it like this and since then no-one has come to fix it,” he said.

He said he read almost every day in the newspapers how residents should report water leaks and save water.

“The huge volume of water being lost is unacceptable. It is thousands of litres of water just running away.” 

Mbaduli said there was another problem on the same street across from the leak site where a stormwater drain was also leaking.

He said this had not been attended to for months and could be a possible danger to children and cars passing by.

Ward 46 councillor Lindelwa Qukubana said the issues had never been reported to her office, and advised residents to report the issues to the municipality and get a reference number.

After The Herald contacted her, she visited the area.

“I am told that there is no water leak but the water comes from an underground borehole,” she said.

She confirmed that municipal workers had previously dug up the site, adding that she would contact the relevant department to fix the issue.

“I will do a follow up and report it to the municipal worker who usually assists us in the ward when we have similar issues,” she said.

When Metro Matters queried the matter with the municipality, municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said the problem was a trench that had been dug to repair a water leak.

“A team will be sent to work on it. The drain that was blocked was cleared on  February 3,” Mniki said.

He said the reason  for work not being completed after the digging would be investigated.