Johannesburg Water disconnects customers owing a combined R2.7 million

Several heavily indebted Johannesburg Water customers had their water supply disconnected on Monday.

The municipal water custodians held a disconnection drive in northern and southern suburbs of the city, focusing on customers living in gated communities and sectional title developments.

Johannesburg Water disconnections

Assisted by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), Johannesburg Water accessed the meters of 15 customers who were singled out for their high municipal bills.

The customers, located across Glenvista, Buccleuch and Sunninghill, owe the city a combined R2.7 million.

The resident with the highest outstanding bill topped R333 000, with the others disconnected having bills in excess of R100 000 each.

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Some of those facing disconnection were reluctant to allow the entity’s technicians access to the properties, with JMPD stepping in to assist.

“This is part of our efforts towards revenue collection, which is crucial for the maintenance and upgrading of the City of Johannesburg’s water and sewer infrastructure,” explained Johannesburg Water’s senior manager for metering and revenue, Siphindile Ngange.

In order to be reconnected, the 15 customers will need to settle their accounts in full or make a payment arrangements with the city’s credit management department.

Potential revenue lost through leaks

The disconnections come days after several areas in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg were without water for several days due to a pumping issue near Northcliff.

These areas were again inconvenienced on Tuesday when a major bust near the Sandton pump station required isolation, with the entity expecting the issue to be solved by late on Tuesday night.

The most recent water supply problems are examples of the various outages experienced by Johannesburg residents on a weekly basis.

Elaborating on the cause of Johannesburg Water’s problems, then DA Shadow MMC for Infrastructure Nicole van Dyk reiterated in November that 46% of the city’s water was lost through leaks, burst pipes and failing infrastructure.

“An ineffective executive sank an effective entity by misaligning their priorities and ignoring the immediate and long-term needs of our city,” said Van Dyk. 

“A technical entity needs technical experts, not political elites running the show,” she added.

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