Residents of Delta Road in Isipingo Beach are quantifying the cost of damages after a burst valve caused water to flood properties next to the Isipingo Beach Reservoir on Monday.

Water from the reservoir caused a deluge of sand to flow into neighbouring properties and eventually cover the roadway with mud. 

Gugu Sisilana, eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, said a temporary repair was undertaken, and every effort is being made to expedite the process.

She stated that due to extensive soil erosion, it is currently not feasible to carry out immediate repairs on the existing main. 

Sisilana said the eThekwini technical teams are on-site and actively working to restore supply to the affected reservoir.

“The city can confirm that the inlet to Isipingo Beach burst, resulting in significant wash away and damage to surrounding properties,” she said. 

One of the residents living close to the reservoir said they had noticed water trickling down the embankment on Thursday and informed the municipality.

Hawa Bi Bi Mahomed, who was alone on the property, noticed the amount of water flowing down the bank increasing on Sunday night.  

Mahomed became frantic and contacted her family for assistance, knowing very well from the previous three incidents of a similar nature what this could lead to. 

Mahomed said that the water and mud came through her back door and into the kitchen with such force that she feared for her safety.

Her son, Idris Mahomed, said that he received a call after 11pm on Sunday from his mother.

“I rushed over and was faced with this nightmare. I have been in this situation before and knew immediately what to do. My first reaction was to dig a trench so that the water would be rerouted away from the house,” Idris said. 

He said that by 4am on Monday, water flowed down from the reservoir at a tremendous rate, excavating the embankment and depositing the sand on the road and their backyard. 

“When I looked at the road, the sand was knee high in some places. We are currently seeking legal advice and guidance on how to go about processing claims. Luckily, no walls have collapsed. Once the sand has been cleared, then only we will be able to assess the extent of the damage,” he said. 

Idris said that the driver of a bakkie almost lost his life in the incident, explaining that the man was delivering bread to the shops in the vicinity when he drove over what he thought was a small heap of sand flowing onto the road. 

“From what he told us, he thought he could drive through the flow of water, which was not so intense. The bakkie was suddenly covered in mud, catching the driver off guard. I heard that some people in the vicinity rushed to his aid and got him out,” Idris said. 

Shad Nowbuth, eThekwini ward 90 councillor, said water tankers had been deployed to the area affected by the water outages, adding that the city sent out payloaders to remove the sand from the road. 

Last week, residents and businesses were informed of the shutdown of the reservoir to carry out maintenance work.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

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