But while the adults complained as they struggled to leave their homes, the children enjoyed the free public swimming pool in their road.
A water main in Copthall Street had burst at 9pm on Sunday, and by morning Chigwell Street and Loughton Avenue were under water.
Community members say they had logged several calls with the City of Cape Town from Sunday night, but help arrived only at 10am on Monday.
By noon, the faulty pipe had been fixed.
Councillor Siyabulela Mamkeli, the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Area Central, explains: “The water main, which burst in Elsies River this morning, has been repaired. The plumber attended to the repairs once the water mains were isolated, which took some time.
“The City’s Roads and Stormwater Department was also on site to clear the stormwater drains, which were partially blocked, and caused the flooding to seem worse than what it was.”
Angry residents say after the repairs were done, the City failed to drain the “pool” in Chigwell Street, but the kids didn’t mind one bit as they carried on “swimming” into the evening.
Michelle Raubenheimer, 36, says she was very disturbed by the amount of water which was being wasted, amid a drought crisis.
“The water started flowing very slowly on Sunday night and one of my neighbours logged a complaint. We thought that would be the end of it,” she said.
“People could not leave for work, because they walked out into a flood.
“I cannot even estimate the amount of water that was wasted because they took so long.
"We are in a drought and someone should have been here immediately, instead of the water flowing for nearly 12 hours.
“We have a massive water shortage. We are in a drought and tomorrow our communities sit without water because this will be recorded as usage or wastage on our part.”
Michelle adds that the local Salberau Swimming Pool has been closed because of water restrictions, and the one plus was that the children could enjoy themselves on Monday.
“Our kids have not seen water or the beach this summer, so at least they got to ‘swim’ a little,” she says.
Daily Voice