Residents in Tafelsig woke up to water running from where their meters had been after they were stolen.

Tafelsig residents woke to find water gushing from where their meters had been after they were stolen.

Last month, residents in Outeniqua Street, Waterberg Road, Stromboli Road, Kilimanjaro Street, Snowdon Street and Versveld Crescent, Tafelsig all had water meters stolen.

Chairperson of Tafelsig sub-forum, Charmaine ‘Connie’ Adams told the Plainsman on Wednesday May 22 contractors from the City of Cape Town took out paving on the sidewalks.

The contractors removed the water meters and its steel drain covers and replaced them with blue plastic covers. Due to the covers being easy to remove, drug users came in the early hours of the morning and stole two water meters in Outeniqua Street as well as in Waterberg Road,” she said.

However the City fixed the issue in Outeniqua Street and Waterberg Road but other residents are still waiting, she said.

“The concern that I have, we have scrapyards that's operating 24/7 accepting these things. The community has to suffer the consequences of their doings while scrapyard owners benefit,” she said.

Everyone has a responsibility to prevent vandalism, she said. If scrapyard owners refuse the stolen items there will be no market for them to sell. They will stop breaking our infrastructure.

“It’s sad that in so many streets this is happening. Waking up in the morning with water running down our streets, clean drinking water that is, it’s not okay,” she said.

Ward 82 councillor Washiela Harris confirmed that meters had been stolen in Tafelsig.

“We’ve been making videos informing the mayor, to get these people to stop stealing. It’s important to work together to report these issues as it highly affects us.”

Councillor Zahid Badroodien, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation said, based on the reference numbers provided, the City’s Water and Sanitation team replaced a stolen water meter on Wednesday May 22, on the same day it was reported.

“Residents need to report their stolen metres as soon as possible to the City and report the case to the SAPS for further investigation,” he said

Regarding the water supply, “the private stopcock is on the owner’s side of the water meter”, he said. He advised residents to bend the stopcock pipe to stop the flow and prevent water wastage, until the City is able to repair the damage, if a meter is stolen

Theft of water meters is a widespread problem, he said adding that the City is replacing brass meters with plastic ones due deter theft.

“Stealing a water meter from a property causes major inconvenience for the affected household as they have no water supply until their meter is replaced,” he said.

Ms Harris said: “I'm pleading to our communities to take charge of their areas and their streets and report all these perpetrators that vandalise our infrastructure, even if it’s their own children. We can only win if we stand and work together.”

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Water meters stolen in Tafelsig streets