“The hydrant was opened by Johannesburg Water this past weekend [19 and 20 September]. This is how they carry out repairs to a burst pipe,” said Biccari.
He said they opened the fire hydrant upstream of the leak in order to drop the pressure in the system so that they could work on the leak. According to Biccari the hydrant stayed open for the duration of the repair work.
“I challenged the repairmen and asked them why they don’t close the maintenance supply valve instead; only to be told that there is no shut-off valve.
“I doubt that a reticulation system such as this one does not have a maintenance shut-off valve. I suspect that the repair crew never bothered to find out where it is,” he said.
Millicent Kabwe, Johannesburg Water’s spokesperson was unavailable for comment about these allegations.
Biccari is not the only Midrand resident who is frustrated by the water crisis. Thivhi Ramovha @ThivhiRamovha tweeted, “Still no water in Midrand. Hahahaha. This sucks!!!!”
Luleka Mtongana Mzamo @lulekamtongana also vented her frustration on Twitter. She tweeted “@CityofJoburgZA when can we expect water to be restored in Midrand-Halfway House, where are the tanks of water supplied in other areas?”
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