Man arrested for damaging eThekwini water pipeline during illegal connection

A man who was caught damaging the city’s water pipeline while illegally connecting a property was arrested last week.

This is after eThekwini Municipality opened a case with the police for infrastructure damage.

The damage of the water pipeline resulted in the interruption of water supply in Lamontville, neighbouring uMlazi, south of Durban.

Acting Head of Water and Sanitation, Msizi Shabalala said the incident caused major damage to infrastructure.

“The man’s conduct caused inconvenience to an entire community who are now left without water while we are working on the repair. We have zero tolerance against illegal connections and will continue to take a hard stance against perpetrators,” said Mr Shabalala.

Mr Shabalala also warned the public against encroachment. He said encroachment hampers the process of undertaking maintenance work. The structure which the man was trying to illegally connect to encroached on the municipalities pipeline servitude. This is a risk to human life and property, should the pipes burst, he said.

The public is urged to look for marker poles painted in orange and yellow for bulk pipelines and blue only for reticulation pipelines.