Durban - A MANOR Gardens family was disappointed by
the lack of urgency and interest shown by the
eThekwini Municipality’s water department after
a burst pipe left their property covered in mud
Lesley Korte, 51, said although the property was extensively damaged, that was not as annoying as the poor response they received from the municipality.
“We’re very angry. The eThekwini Water Department did not respond, the Fire Department responded. Despite our phone calls, no plumber responded, even after being told it has been escalated,” Korte said.
He said the Fire Department came within an hour of being called. They located the valves and switched off the water, which meant their road had no water - and they also had to brave it through load shedding.
The pipe burst after midnight on Monday and the Korte family was woken up by muddy water pouring out of the bath and shower drains. There was also a river of water, mud and stones from the road pouring down their grass embankment, Korte said.
Their neighbours helped to try to divert the water and mud from the house to minimise the damage.
The Korte home is situated below the road where the pipe burst. As a result, part of the road had collapsed.
“Why did the eThekwini Water Department not respond to the emergency? Where were they? And, is there an investigation and who will be held accountable?” Korte asked.
He said the internal damage to the house was still being assessed, but he had a swimming pool and its motor full of mud and the sand from the bank was all over his property.
“We’ve had major damage which could have been prevented if someone had got there in an hour,” he said.
He said they had lived there for almost nine years and had never had a catastrophe like that before.
They were now awaiting the clean-up team from the municipality, even though they had done most of the cleaning up. They also had piles of mud waiting to be collected.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said they apologised to their residents for the inconvenience the burst water pipe may have caused.