Local NPO wants answers about water leaks from CoE

Better Bedfordview called for an urgent meeting with City of Ekurhuleni engineers to establish how and when the ongoing water leaks in the suburb will be addressed.

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“Thousands of litres of precious, potable water are being wasted in Bedfordview every day due to ongoing water leaks, as there are regular water outages due to pipe bursts,” said Better Bedfordview chairperson Marina Constas.

“This situation cannot continue.”

The NPO Better Bedfordview is an apolitical, community organisation that is cleaning up and restoring roads, parks, pavements and public places.

Constas said part of its mission is to hold the municipality accountable.

“We are gravely concerned by what appears to be a lack of urgency by the municipality to offer a comprehensive solution to the ageing and corroded infrastructure that is causing regular water leaks, pipe bursts and water cuts.

“We expect the municipality to do more than apply ‘band-aids’ to the leaks, and want to know what the metro’s long-term, sustainable solution is,” said Constas.

She said Bedfordview residents and ratepayers deserve better.

“Clean water is a basic human right.”

Constas highlighted that resident informed Better Bedfordview of water leaks that have continued for a year.

“A resident noted that a water leak on the corner of Kloof and Russell roads was recently ‘celebrating its first birthday’. This is a shocking indictment on our municipality.”

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“We have also received photographs of badly corroded pipes that municipal contractors and sub-contractors have worked on.

“We would like to know how this corrosion may impact the water quality and the health of our residents.

“Better Bedfordview is working with The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) on its WaterCAN project, an initiative to assess the quality of water in areas around South Africa.”

The project aims to ensure that water quality issues are identified, action is quickly taken and those responsible are held accountable.

“Better Bedfordview shares OUTA’s belief that South Africans need to have access to transparent and accurate information regarding the quality of the drinking water they receive,” said Constas.

She noted that Johannesburg Water announced a programme to replace old asbestos cement piping infrastructure in the central and northern suburbs.

“Better Bedfordview would like to know what Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is going to do to stop the literal rot in our water infrastructure,” said Constas.

“Band-aids on corroded pipes are not enough,” stressed Constas.

Better Bedfordview depends on funding and support from caring, community-minded residents and businesses to restore and maintain the suburb, including repairing potholes.

Since its relaunch on June 1 2022, Better Bedfordview has fixed more than 180 potholes.

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The organisation’s initiative to repair potholes in Bedfordview was endorsed by the City of Ekurhuleni and received a substantial sponsorship from Afrihost.

“The constant water leaks and pipe bursts are another priority that must be addressed and Better Bedfordview looks forward to meeting with the municipality to understand the way forward,” Constas said.

Email betterbedfordview@gmail.com for more information or to register as a Better Bedfordview member.

The recommended monthly contribution is R200 per month for a household and R5 000 a year for a business, but Better Bedfordview welcomes any contribution.

A request for comment was sent to COE on September 28, requesting feedback by September 30 at 14:00.

At the time of going to print, no comment was received.

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