Emfuleni mayor orders urgent action over water leak blamed for pothole damage

Emfuleni Executive Mayor Hassan Mako has ordered municipal teams to urgently address a long-standing water leak in Vanderbijlpark after an inspection of the stormwater catchment system in Sullivan Street.

The inspection found that a section of the stormwater line connecting a catchpit in Sullivan Street to a concrete canal had collapsed.

According to Roads and Stormwater Department manager Thabiso Masikela, the water flowing along the street is coming from a leaking potable water pipe at the corner of Offenbach and Mendelssohn streets. The water enters a nearby catchpit before flowing out at Sullivan Street.

Mako has reported the leak to Metsi-a-Lekoa, the municipality’s water utility, and instructed the relevant teams to stop the water losses in SW5.

The leak has also contributed to potholes, particularly around the traffic circle in Chopin Street, with the Roads and Stormwater Department expected to undertake repairs once the water leak has been resolved.

“Metsi-a-Lekoa teams must start to prioritise and attend to long-standing water leaks. Persistent leaks do far more than waste a precious resource; they inflate non-revenue water figures, strain our already limited municipal budget, and quietly destroy the very road infrastructure residents rely on every day,” Mako said.

He said water escaping from damaged pipes can saturate road foundations and worsen damage to road surfaces.

“When potable water escapes from a broken pipe at the corner of Offenbach and Mendelssohn Streets, it does not simply disappear. It finds its way into the stormwater system, saturates road foundations, and turns road surfaces into pothole nightmares,” Mako said.

He stressed that the incident highlighted the need for better coordination between municipal departments, particularly where water infrastructure failures affect roads and stormwater systems.

Mako said stopping the leak would allow Roads and Stormwater teams to repair the damaged road infrastructure and replace the collapsed section of the stormwater line without interference from the flowing water.

He also warned that long-standing leaks should not be treated as minor maintenance problems, saying they contribute to water losses and damage municipal infrastructure.

The mayor said coordinated intervention was necessary to ensure that residents’ complaints were resolved more quickly and that municipal resources were used efficiently.