Kidd’s Beach private estate homeowners left high and dry

Despite paying their monthly bills, about 450 homeowners and businesses in a multimillion-rand property development in the Buffalo City Metro have gone nearly three months without a consistent water supply. Homeowners across the Kidd’s Beach private estates of Umlele Heights, Umlele Gardens, Umlele Springs and Heron Court have experienced intermittent water outages since the start of the festive season. In recent weeks, the situation has escalated to near-total shutdowns, forcing households and businesses to rely on boreholes, water tanks and costly private deliveries.

The crisis has placed the owners of the development, Mission Holding Group (MHG), at odds with the municipality over responsibility for restoring supply. A resident of Umlele Heights, who asked not to be named, said they had been paying about R400 a month for water but had not had a reliable supply since November. “I can’t remember the last time I had proper running water.

We had interrupted supply throughout December and then suddenly no water at all. “We haven’t received clear answers from either the developer or the municipality.” The resident said the estate relied on backup water tanks fed by borehole systems, but these were inadequate to meet demand. “We depend on water reserves that only last a short time.

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Sometimes we get water for about two hours a day, sometimes not at all, despite being charged,” he said. Though water tankers were being brought in, they could not service the entire precinct and risked depletion. “The demand outweighs the supply.

At times only apartments at Umlele Hills receive water, while residents in Umlele Heights and Gardens are asked to rely on their own tanks,” he said. The resident described the situation as a serious health hazard and “a violation of basic human rights”.

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