Hundreds of households in Cambridge West in East London were left with no water or power for five days.
Freezers melted. Ruined food had to be thrown out. Frustration mounted, and residents said they were feeling “emotionally drained”.
The ordeal began at about 1pm on Thursday, when a major power outage struck the area. Then the digging started ahead of a major cable replacement in the Highgate area.
When this was done, technicians discovered two more faults on the line.
Initially, information updates were shared in the Fiddlewood Lane WhatsApp group, by DA councillor Allister Lemarc Stewart.
One resident from Weare Road, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation, said: “It started with the water outage. The whole of Cambridge was without water for a while.”
Then the power started tripping.
“Technicians eventually got that running again, but I’m not at ease because chances of it happening again are high.”
“It’s been on and off for days. Food and beverages were ruined because our fridges and freezers stopped working. We had to throw away everything, it went off.”
Insurance claims have been a problem. “We want to claim everything we lost, but it’s complicated because we don’t know how to prove it.”
On Friday morning, residents were told that repairs were under way, but no time frame was provided.
A notice was later issued warning that Scholl, Weare, Baldwin, Powell, Bide and surrounding streets in Cambridge West would remain without power due to the ongoing cable fault.
By Saturday, Buffalo City Metro (BCM) officials confirmed that the problem was still being worked on.
Now it seemed there was no cable joiner available, leaving thousands to stew in the waterless, powerless hell.
Technicians appeared back on the scene.
Another resident, also asking not to be named, said: “We waited for the cable to arrive. More staff were brought on site and joiners were called to speed up the repair work. We were told two cable joints were needed, each taking up to four hours. You can imagine the frustration.”
The first joint was completed successfully, but while testing, a second fault was detected. The team then had to replace 70m of cable, later adding another 30m. Testing and jointing continued through the weekend.
On Sunday evening, residents were advised to switch off their appliances as technicians attempted to restore power.
“It blew twice, third time was lucky,” a resident said.
Finally, at 7.08pm on Sunday, the power came back on.
But … then the water stopped and the areas were dry on Monday from 4pm to 8pm. Apparently a pipe burst in Amalinda, which affected Cambridge’s supply while the reservoir refilled.
BCM officials later confirmed that “the cable has been repaired and energised” and that the water supply was being restored as the reservoir filled up again.
But angry residents want lasting solutions: “We’ve had to throw away groceries and live without power or water for days. It’s not just an inconvenience; it’s a cost and an emotional toll.”
BCM said the problem, a broken power line to Umzonyana Water Treatment Works, had been fixed but the ground reservoirs at Dawn were not at the required 60% before pumping to the tower tank could resume.
Areas experiencing intermittent supply while the system stabilised were Eureka, Dawn, Wilsonia, Summerpride, parts of Vincent and some sections of Mdantsane.
Electricity outtages were caused by a fault in the 11kV cable in Highgate affecting Highgate, the rest of Cambridge, Cambridge Location Phase 3, and Cambridge West. Technicians fixed two faults there.
