Angry residents confront Johannesburg Water officials

Coronationville Hall was packed on Monday evening. Residents came to get answers from officials about the water supply in their areas. Photos: Silver Sibiya

• Frustrated residents from Westbury, Westdene, Claremont, and Hursthill met with officials from Johannesburg Water and City of Johannesburg on Monday evening.
• They complained about water troubles in their neighbourhoods while several officials from Johannesburg Water and City listened.
• Some people from Claremont said their taps have been dry for four months.
• Johannesburg Water confirmed that the City will be investing in building infrastructure to mitigate some water problems.

About 200 frustrated residents from Westbury, Westdene, Claremont, and Hursthill filled the Coronationville Hall on Monday evening to voice their unhappiness that they have not had consistent running water for years.

One-by-one residents stood up and complained about water troubles in their communities while several officials from Johannesburg Water and City listened.

Anistine Watson from Claremont said her 60-unit block of flats has not had reliable water supply for two years, but for the past four months their taps have been completely dry.

Community leader, Bianca Olivier, questioned why officials had even come to the meeting if no one had answers for when their water would be switched on again. “They are only telling us of water trucks and Jojo tanks. But the water trucks don’t come to the community every single day,” she said.

She warned that they would “take to the streets” again should their taps remain dry.

Two weeks ago GroundUp reported on a protest by residents from these communities where they shut down a few busy roads and caused disruptions to Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa hospitals. At the time City of Johannesburg manager Floyd Brink admitted that there had been problems and promised that water would be restored in three days. But this never happened, says residents.

As Johannesburg Water’s managing director, Ntshavheni Mukwevho started speaking at the meeting, he was repeatedly interrupted by residents shouting insults and some walking to the stage to try and confront him.

Mukwevho told residents that the Hursthill reservoirs supplied water to areas in the west of Johannesburg, including Coronationville and Westbury. For these reservoirs to get water, the reservoirs in Meredale, which remains almost empty, must be at least 20% full or ideally above 40%, he said.

He said the City is investing in infrastructure to mitigate some of these issues. “The City is going to build a new pump station and bulk pipeline from the reservoir to this area to make sure the bulk infrastructure is sufficient.

“When the systems were healthy across Joburg it was fine, but now to get it to 40% plus is very difficult because the demand surpasses supply,” he said.

Responding to residents’ complaints that the neighbouring Slovo Park community had an uninterrupted water supply, Mukwevho explained that it was not part of Hursthill reservoir 1 or 2. “The areas are supplied by Brixton Tower and Crosby Reservoir.”

Every day Joburg Water shuts down about 25 reservoirs at scheduled times for “the system to recover”. He said they will know in January whether they can drill boreholes at the Hursthill reservoirs to supplement water supply.

Council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu said officials met last week to discuss ways to improve the water woes across the metro. At this meeting it was decided that they would start a massive project to repair and build proper water infrastructure next year. “We received a petition from this community about the water issues. We then realised that the [information] we get for some reason isn’t shared with the community,” she said.

At the end of the meeting, residents agreed to select representatives from each area to sit on a committee tasked with engaging officials regularly on water issues in their communities.

Unsatisfied with the answers given by Johannesburg Water managing director Ntshavheni Mukwevho, residents walked from their seats to the stage. Pictured above is one of the City of Johannesburg officials trying to restore calm.

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