What began as a routine pipe repair in Goede Hoop Avenue, Fairbridge Heights has evolved into a tale of unfinished business that speaks to broader infrastructure challenges facing the community.
In June 2024, a resident’s report of a burst pipe near the Fairbridge Heights reservoir prompted municipal workers to respond quickly, but their solution created a new problem that remains unresolved more than a year later.
The pipe was fixed, but the resident’s driveway, damaged during the repair process, still bears the scars of heavy municipal equipment. Despite multiple escalations through proper channels, the promised restoration has yet to materialise, leaving the homeowner looking to sell his property with a daily reminder of a job left half-finished.
Meanwhile, the reservoir itself tells a troubling story of ongoing water loss. Multiple leaks in the surrounding area have created waterlogged conditions that, according to sources, are now hampering access for repair crews and their equipment.
Fairbridge Heights resident Kallie Calitz told UD Express that approximately 20 years ago, after purchasing his home, he realised that the cement in his driveway was cracking. The municipality discovered that the stormwater pipe underneath was leaking, weakening the soil. They repaired the pipe and filled the hole without issues.
After the June 2024 flood, municipal officials came to fix Calitz’s backyard wall.
Whilst reversing their truck into his driveway, they cracked the cement above the previously repaired pipe, leaving a gaping water-filled hole in his driveway that was cordoned off and left as is.
Calitz informed the municipality after noticing that his driveway was hollow, with parts of the soil underneath washed away.
A contractor assessed the damage and discovered a large hole.
“The company told me that this was not their mandate, and that the issue was bigger than them. The issue does not originate in my driveway, there is a bigger issue causing this,” Calitz said.
The contractor informed the municipality’s roads department, which appointed a plumber for what Calitz maintains is not a plumbing issue. The plumbers noted a leaking pipe, an issue Calitz had repeatedly reported to the municipality.
“My neighbour also has the same issue, but his yard is much worse. They dug in our yards as the stormwater pipe runs underneath our homes and left the pipe exposed. There is now an open gap underneath our boundary wall on both sides of our homes,” he said.
Water testing revealed that the pipe contained potable water, allegedly from the Fairbridge Heights reservoir, prompting the matter to be transferred from the roads department to the water department. However, the water department refused to extract water from the holes to allow the roads department to repair the pipe.
Calitz showed UD Express what he believes to be the root of the area’s water problems. Behind his home, a stream of potable water flows into a stormwater pipe; representing a loss of treated water and contributing to increased infrastructure costs.
“There are so many water leaks in this bush. In 1996 when I moved here, there was only a small stream, but it seems to get worse every year, with the water department doing nothing to fix the issue,” he said. “I was informed that the leaks have made the soil around the reservoir too wet for tractors to reach it. Are we going to let the water we pay for be wasted?”
When asked about awareness of water issues in Kariega, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) spokesperson, Sithembiso Soyaya said, “The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality acknowledges the ongoing water and sanitation challenges in Kariega and other municipal areas. These difficulties are largely due to a backlog of work and ageing infrastructure across the metro.”
The municipality added that a comprehensive metro-wide maintenance and refurbishment plan is being rolled out, covering all communities.
When asked to comment on the resident’s situation, the municipality did not address specific questions regarding the municipality’s property damage restoration policy, contractor accountability, standard timeframes for damage claims, the root cause of the water leaks in the bush behind Goede Hoop, or estimated resolution timelines for the resident’s case.
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