Joburg Water warns Phumlamqashi it will not reconnect illegal connections

Joburg Water has warned residents of Phumlamqashi, south of Johannesburg that it will not reconnect illegal connections in the informal settlement.

Phumlamqashi residents on Monday  barricaded roads with rocks, burning tyres and other debris over water cuts.

This is the second protest by the residents related to water cuts in the last two weeks.

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Illegal water connections

Residents claim Joburg Water has not lived up to its commitment to restore the water supply to residents of Phumlamqashi.

However, Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said stressed that Lenasia High-Level Reservoir has experienced a significant increase in water levels following a successful intervention to optimise water distribution in the area.

“The entity wishes to reiterate that it will not be connecting the illegal connection at the Phumla Mqashi informal settlement in Lenasia south. This is following a disconnection operation in the area on 12 November.

“The intervention also marks a significant step forward in reducing the entity’s nonrevenue water (NRW), the percentage of water supplied but not billed to customers. This ongoing challenge, which Johannesburg Water has worked tirelessly to address over the years, is seeing encouraging progress due to these operational adjustments and various other water demand management projects,” Shabalala said.

Lenasia reservoir improving

Shabalala said the Lenasia High-Level and Hospital Hill reservoirs, which had previously faced challenges in reaching optimal water levels, have now achieved a significant milestone in their operational performance.

“This improvement has been observed despite the Hospital Hill pumps operating under normal conditions, suggesting a direct correlation between the disconnection of illegal water connections and the recent increase in reservoir levels.

“Johannesburg Water restored water tank services in the area to assist in maintaining basic services for the community,” Shabalala said. Joburg Water also reminded residents that it is deploying water restrictions equitably across the city and includes but not limited to several informal settlements and high consuming bulk meters.

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