Major water pipe burst causes flooding and sinkhole in Cowies Hill - IOL

Part of Mc Bean Road in Cowies Hill, Durban, collapsed after an underground water pipeline ruptured on Tuesday morning. The eThekwini Municipality has repaired the pipeline and road.

A major water pipe burst in Cowies Hill, in the early hours of Tuesday caused extensive flooding, property damage and a large sinkhole, leaving access to parts of McBean Road restricted while repair work was carried out.

The burst occurred at about 4.45am on September 22 on McBean Road, affecting a main water pipeline supplying the lower part of Pinetown.

eThekwini Ward 18 councillor Melanie Brauteseth said the water supply had since been restored after repair teams attended to the damaged pipeline.

“Three water tankers were sent to the area while repairs to the pipeline were being undertaken. The residents did not have water for a day but luckily it came back this morning,” she said.

Brauteseth said the roads department had also inspected and assessed the damage caused to the road.

“A year ago the same pipe burst and the residents were left without water for six days. This time, because of the severity of the situation, the job was escalated and the issue was getting sorted out,” she said.

“The water was rapidly flowing and it was bad. We did lose a lot of water as it was flowing for 1,5 hours. Some properties were flooded but residents are sorting their issues out. However, the residents were up in arms over the repeat burst.”

The municipality said its teams had responded to a major burst on the water reticulation system involving a 525mm asbestos-cement pipe.

The damaged section has since been replaced with a 600mm steel pipeline.

For residents living along McBean Road, the incident brought back memories of a similar pipe burst last year.

Resident Sharan Baijnath said her property was severely affected during the previous incident and she feared a repeat of the damage when she was alerted to the latest burst.

“Last time the pipe burst, the water entered my home. Luckily this time it was just my yard. The terraforce came down, the yard was flooded and my pool was submerged in mud. It is damaged again,” Baijnath said.

“We cannot walk in the yard because we are slipping. I had a panic attack when my son woke me up. He heard the sound and we watched it on the cameras. I was so scared the same damage would happen again.”

Baijnath said her home had been badly damaged during last year's incident.

“Last year my house was completely damaged. We worked hard for our homes just for this to happen. We had to seal off the doors. I was grabbing towels to jam the doors. I kept screaming, ‘we are getting flooded’. Our walls collapsed the last time,” she said.

She claimed that the previous repair had not resolved the underlying problem.

“Last year when they repaired the pipe, it started leaking again. Nothing was done, and that leak turned into a burst pipe. I feel it was negligence on the municipality's part,” Baijnath said.

She said she was relieved that nobody had been injured but remained concerned about the financial consequences of the latest incident.

Baijnath said her insurer had warned that repeated claims could become an issue.

“My insurance company said they will not keep covering me for the same issues and I am sure they will not cover all costs. We will have to fix the pool and refill, which will cost a fortune. My yard is being cleaned now and we have heaps of sand everywhere,” she said.

Another resident, Mary van Wijk, said the force of the water caused significant damage to roads and properties.

“I woke up in the morning to a rolling sound of a refuse bin rolling down the driveway. When I checked my phone, I saw videos of the damage and was shocked. When I looked out my window, I saw water gushing down my driveway and flooding my yard,” van Wijk said.

She said a blocked stormwater drain worsened the flooding on her property.

“The stormwater drain on my driveway was blocked with tar so the water could not escape and flooded my yard. I had a sinkhole in my driveway that was half a metre deep. We filled it up just to get our cars out because we were stuck in,” she said.

Van Wijk praised the response from municipal teams and the ward councillor.

“The municipality and our councillor was amazing and everything moved quickly. Before we knew it, things were getting fixed,” she said.

“A lot of the tarmac had washed away due to the force of the water. The municipal teams opened up sections of the road to allow us entry to our driveways. However, driving on the road is restricted while repairs are underway.”

Van Wijk said the damage extended beyond the roadway.

“Although it was a short road, the damage was considerable. The paving on my driveway washed away, and the hinges on my gate were ripped off. A neighbour's wire fence and side wall collapsed due to the force of the water,” she said.

“The municipality had done an amazing job with the pipe repairs. They worked non-stop through the night. An amazing response from the councillor as well.”

Municipal teams were also reported to be attending to potholes and sinkholes in the area on Wednesday as efforts continued to make the affected road safe and accessible to residents.