Water leak in Edgemead wrecks driveway

Nearly six months after a water leak in Langkloof Way, Edgemead, left a driveway damaged, it has not been repaired.

Despite repeated unanswered complaints to authorities, leaving resident Clive Owen with mounting frustration and no resolution. 

According to Mr Owen,  the water leak below the driveway was repaired by the City of Cape Town on Tuesday, November 26, but the bricks on the surface of the driveway were not repaired or replaced and were left in a pile.

Mr Owen said that while the property belonged to his daughter and son-in-law, who are abroad and leasing it to tenants, he believes that the onus was on him to get the property back to its original condition.

He logged a C3 notification on Wednesday, December 4 2024,  and received an automated response, informing him that the “repairs will be undertaken within 30 days”, but nearly six months after the pipe burst, there has been no response from the City.

“It appears officials will wait for a total collapse of the driveway before deciding to undertake the remedial work, at a far greater cost. I am not afraid to stand up to bureaucracy and be identified in the public domain,” said Mr Owen

"The paved brick driveway has partly collapsed and the subsidence appears to continue, which, left untreated, will result in motor vehicles being unable to access or egress the driveway to and from the garage," he added.

Mr Owen added that the damage had severely affected the appearance of the property.

In an email to the City, he said authorities will be held liable for any inconvenience and any damage to the property structurally or otherwise, including motor vehicles, as a result of a lack of appropriate action on the part of the City of Cape Town and its officials but he still has not received a response.

Mayoral committee member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien said the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate is aware of the reinstatement request at the Langkloof Way property and added that the request is on their “master list” of reinstatements.

He added that the repair is part of a wider batch of notifications being grouped into work packages. 

“Since July 2024, the Directorate has implemented a turnaround strategy to expedite reinstatements, with over 1 540 sites already completed city-wide. Reinstatement work is now managed through scheduled work packages, awarded approximately every four to five weeks,” he said.

He added that while the department is unable to provide a specific repair date, the request is listed in the upcoming work package 

“Currently, the City's commitment is to reinstate locations within six to nine months from when the original maintenance work was completed,” said Mr Badroodien.