Alex residents demanded illegal water connection from Joburg Water contractors

Johannesburg Water said they will resume repairs on Monday after their contractors were threatened by Alexander community members during a scheduled tie-in on Friday.

The utility said they will be accompanied by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) for the contractor’s safety.

Scheduled tie-in

The scheduled tie-in on 1st Avenue in Alexander led to water outages affecting Wynberg and Bramley North.

Johannesburg Water Spokesperson, Puleng Mopeli said the contractors were connecting a new pipe line to an existing one, when the residents confronted them.

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The residents demanded that they be allowed to make illegal water connections, of which the contractors told them it was impossible. The workers said gun shots were fired.

“Workers on the ground reported shots fired if they continued with repairs on Friday,” said Mopeli.

As a result, the workers had to halt repairs and were forced to leave the site for safety from the angry community members.

Mopeli said roaming water tankers have been deployed to the affected areas, until the team finish with repairs.

JHB CBD water outages

Residents of Johannesburg CBD and surrounding areas have been without water for three days now.

The utility attributed the outages to rolling black outs, which it says affected the Hector Norris pump station.

“Johannesburg Water is sourcing a generator in order to restore pumps,” said the utility in a statement on Sunday.

There is no estimation of when the water can be restored.

Burst pipe in Florida

A collapsed bridge due to floods that wreaked havoc in parts of Gauteng affected a 450mm pipe in Florida.

This led to water outages in Florida, Fleurhof Extension 19 and 21. The burst is being attended to and water tankers will be provided.

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