Langa residents desperate for a fix to ongoing flooding

Residents in Langa's Brinton Street are assessing the damage to their property on a daily basis because of the underground water that seeps through the walls and floor, flooding their properties.

The water is just coming out of the ground where the foundation and concrete meet. Residents suspect a burst pipe underground, but say they are not sure.

And residents cannot afford to fix the damage to their homes.

One of them, Sinothando Toleni said the situation was so bad that some residents had chosen to move and stay with relatives.

“The City of Cape Town workers were here but could not come up with a solution. Instead they closed the water completely.

“They suspect a pipe that might have been burst underground. There was nothing we could do to stop it, it just kept coming from the ground. They also failed to stop it but they closed the main water switch. We are now facing a problem of not having water. That means we can’t use ablutions, we can't wash ourselves and dishes,” she said.

When Vukani visited last Friday, homes had been flooded, and cupboards and electrical appliances like washing machines stood in water in some homes.

Ms Toleni said it had been a week since the water started encroaching on their properties and that residents had informed the municipality.

“This is devastating. They kept saying they will come back or send someone but zilch. In the meantime people are suffering,” she said.

Vukani referred the residents concerns to the City, but by the time this story was published, they had not yet responded to our queries.