KARIEGA – Over a year after first reporting on the persistent water leak plaguing Van Riebeeck Hoogte residents, UD Express asked follow-up questions in detail to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, seeking clarity on whether this unresolved infrastructure failure may be contributing to broader water supply challenges facing Kariega.
With the Fairbridge Heights Reservoir allegedly running dry over the weekend and some residents continuing to endure flooded yards, damaged roads, and thousands of litres of potable water wasted daily, critical questions have emerged about the potential connection between prolonged leaks and reservoir levels, the true volume of water being lost daily, and why technical assessments have yet to yield concrete repair timelines.
According to Ward 51 Councillor Roelf Basson, the water leak in Van der Graaf, Van Riebeeck Hoogte in Kariega has persisted for between 18 months and two years.
“There was a lot of water running down Barend Street, coming from the Fairbridge Heights Reservoir, and it took me close to a year to get the water division to fix some leaks on the reservoir side to stop the flow of water that was running down Barend Street. So that was one problem,” Basson explained.
“The second problem is between Van Riebeeck Hoogte and Fairbridge Heights, which is the current challenge we are facing. What exacerbated the situation were the recent floods of June and October.”
Basson described a complex infrastructure challenge involving a canal behind houses in Goede Hoop Avenue in Fairbridge Heights, which serves as a channel to direct excess water or overflow from two reservoirs through a pipeline that runs beneath a resident’s home.
“There is a servitude for that stormwater pipe that goes between those two houses in the street. Unfortunately, the owner of that house has now built a carport over that servitude, which is causing difficulty in resolving the problem.”
@ecexpressnews The Ward Councillor alleges this leak in Kariega has persisted for 18 months to 2 years, with little to no help from the municipality. . . . . #fyp #explorepage ♬ original sound – PE Express
According to Basson, he has escalated the matter to senior municipal officials, a video was taken by them as evidence, but nothing has happened since. Following the floods, the water division provided funding to the road stormwater division to investigate the pipeline.
“They have found that the pipes became dislodged, and that is now causing the excessive water running down and not finding its way into the stormwater system,” Basson said.
The source of the continuous water flow has been identified. “The water division has managed to locate the leaks about two to three months ago, opened it up, and it’s now awaiting the repair of those leaks. Once those leaks have been repaired, things will return to normal again.”
The Van der Graaf Street drainage issue is directly connected to this broader problem.
Basson explained, “The stormwater drain was damaged when the contractor was busy doing a repair on a water burst some year or two ago. The stormwater people cannot fix that whilst the water is running. You obviously cannot work in the water. So they must first fix the leaks so that the water can stop running, so that they can blank it off so that they can fix the catchment.”
Basson revealed that the situation has escalated to legal action, with at least one affected resident filing a claim against the municipality.
“I know for a fact that one of the owners in Goede Hoop Avenue who suffered damages as a result of this has now filed legal action against the municipality. I support him for that, because the municipality is not coming to the party to really and seriously resolve the problem.”
He expressed frustration with the pace of repairs. “At the moment, the contractor doesn’t have an order. They stopped last week, and they are now awaiting a new order to be able to carry on working. From my side, this will be top priority once the contractors are back on.”
Emphasising the water wastage concern, he said, “I honestly have had enough of this, and it’s a lot of water going to waste. We’re having very little rain at the moment. It’s a grave concern at this stage that water at that rate can flow away.”
Despite the complexity of coordinating between water and stormwater divisions, Basson maintains that the technical solutions are known.
The problem has been exposed. We know where it’s coming from. It’s now just the effort to fix it. This could have been resolved a long time ago if they [municipality] had their priorities sorted.
The municipality was approached for comment but did not respond at the time of going to print.
