All’s well that ends well on leak

A Somerset Ridge resident, Chris Fourie, has expressed growing frustration over a prolonged and seemingly mismanaged service request to the City of Cape Town.

A burst pipe at Waterbosch Estate in Somerset West was finally fixed on Thursday 24 April, but only after two months of repeated wranglings and closures despite reportedly not being worked on or completed.

Fourie’s records indicate multiple attempts to resolve the matter, with numerous reference numbers and interactions with various municipal departments and individuals. Initial contact was made on Tuesday 11 February with follow-up attempts on Thursday 27 February and eventually again on Tuesday 4 March, when he was told by a local councillor to be patient.

Another two follow-ups over the next month, together with new reference numbers, again yielded little to no action. “The water is flowing into a stormwater drain and I would estimate that hundreds of litres of water are being wasted daily,” Fourie said.

He visited the council offices in Somerset West on Wednesday 26 March, when an official informed him the job was “closed” and subsequently “re-processed”, but could not indicate when the job would actually receive attention.

According to Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation Zahid Badroodien the department is currently working through a city-wide backlog of reported leaks – particularly smaller or lower-pressure leaks – which have grown due to teams prioritising high-volume pipe bursts that pose greater risks to water losses, property and traffic flow.

“We have, however, recently approved additional overtime resources to fast-track outstanding leak repairs,” he said, “including work over weekends and after-hours shifts. This measure is already making a difference and will allow us to address smaller, but persistent issues like this one with more speed.

“In this particular case a maintenance team has now been assigned and the repair is scheduled to be attended to on Thursday 24 April, barring any unforeseen emergencies that may require urgent reprioritisation. We also acknowledge resident concerns regarding references being marked as ‘closed’. Duplicate service requests are closed on the service request system to ensure efficient planning of job cards.”

Just two hours after a media enquiry was submitted to the City last Thursday, Fourie said municipal teams arrived and began addressing the problem, with the work completed later that same day.