Durban - FOUR burst water pipes within two days left residents of a Durban suburb without water for three consecutive days.
After another pipe burst on Erica Avenue on Saturday, frustrated Kharwastan residents said contractors and municipal staff working on the pipes were incompetent.
Ward 65 councillor Samantha Windvogel said Kharwastan residents went without water from January1 to 3.
Resident Danny Naicker said the situation was chronic.
“The main cause is not the age of the old asbestos pipes; it is the pressure build-up in the pipeline when the valves are opened fully. This has a reaction similar to when air is blown into a balloon over and above the capacity it can hold,” he said.
“This is bound to cause an explosion or pressure burst. The simple explanation is that some municipal employees, with access to the pressure valves at the reservoir and valve control unit situated on Silvia Avenue, deliberately open the valve to full throttle. This results in the pressure building up in the pipes until it cannot contain itself. It explodes underground, hence the burst water pipes,” he said.
eThekwini spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the city’s water and sanitation department’s technical teams would investigate the frequent bursts on Hawk Street.
“Some of the causes of burst pipes are the age of the pipes, temperature, floods, soil erosion and wet soil which can cause pipes to lose their position,” he said.
Windvogel said that with all the money spent on repairs over the past five years, the city could have installed new pipes.
Mayisela said a plan to renew the water pipe infrastructure in the Kharwastan area would be investigated.
Windvogel said contractors often did not have correct or functioning equipment.
But Mayisela said they had competent and skilled staff doing repairs.
“They are provided with the correct equipment. We sometimes have various teams attending to the same job; this is due to the various specialised skills and equipment required,” he said.