A pipe burst in Da Gama Park left residents at their wits end as it took seven days for water to be restored.
Last week, residents took to social media, as a last resort, asking for help as “the situation was getting desperate”.
“Is there anyone that can offer assistance to the residents of Da Gama Park? We have now been sitting without water since Thursday (23 November).
“Children are walking up and down from avenue to avenue trying to open hydrants to obtain water, the situation is now getting seriously desperate. If anyone is able to assist with bottles or drums of water please let me know so we can distribute,” wrote one resident.
She added that all relevant authorities were notified of the issue yet water had not been restored.
“I wouldn’t be on here asking for water if we had not tried all other avenues.
“Everyone contacted the relevant authorities . . . the tanker came Saturday and Sunday but not everyone got water and today everyone is sitting pretty and it’s Tuesday (27 November).”
Another resident wrote: “Does anyone know what is happening with our water in Da Gama Park? Five days without water. None of the pipes have been fixed yet.”
According to Ward 61 councillor Simon Liell-Cock, the Department of Public Works needs to step up as they are “the problem”.
“There was a water burst in Da Gama Park and Public Works hasn’t had a contractor in place for six months to repair leaks.
“The City stepped in and fixed it themselves, but it is a difficult thing for people to be without water for so long.”
Liell-Cock claims that roads and pipes had not been repaired in Da Gama Park for the past 10 years.
“The National Department of Public Works is the problem, even the roads to Da Gama have not been repaired for more than 10 years.
“We (the City) can’t fix up the whole country. The pipes and connections are not cheap and have run into thousands of rands.”
He added that repairs to the water burst were completed on Tuesday last week.
“Da Gama Park falls under national government because of the Navy. The whole area was affected due to the water burst and there was too much water loss.
“It is has been a problem for a while in Da Gama because pipes need to be replaced.”
People’s Post phoned the Department of Public Works for a comment on Friday 1 December, however, at the time of going to print they had not responded.
