It has been determined that vandalised infrastructure has been the cause of water outages in Imizamo Yethu in the greater Hout Bay area.
Also read: Residents burn tyres to protest water outages in Hout Bay area
City of Cape Town ward councillor Rob Quintas says a stolen copper ball valve that provides water to the Depot and Disa One and Two communities was discovered near the Hout Bay cemetery this morning.
‘Criminals had cleverly bent the pipe and covered it back over with soil, preventing water [from] gushing out and being visible. This explains why the Water and Sanitation department had been unable to locate the source of [the] problem and resolve it up until now.
‘Due to the concealment of the theft, it was extremely difficult to establish [the] cause as every valve and component of the reticulation system required checking which is why only now on Thursday morning were they able to ascertain [the] location of [the] problem, and resolve it.’
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He says the criminal elements do not care for their fellow residents. ‘Those people in our communities who feel they are entitled to steal and tamper with City assets need to be stopped.’
‘Those crimes are not victimless, and in fact, have a direct impact on the lives of communities and cause friction which in itself causes fear and damages to public property such as roads.’
Residents took their frustrations to the Hout Bay Gateway Circle last night, where they burned tyres in protest at the prolonged outage. Sergeant Wesley Twigg, spokesperson for the Western Cape police, says no damages to property or injuries were reported, and no police action was taken.
According to Quintas, supply has been restored via temporary measures and preparations for permanent repairs, which will make vandalism more difficult, are being done today.
In the meantime, a water tanker has been dispatched to the Hout Bay SAPS, and another is en route. Teams will also look for alternative water supply sources until repairs have been completed.
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Picture: Roberto Miguel Quintas / Facebook