Silverton residents without water for six months

A total of 144 families living in the Overton B block of flats in De Boulevard Street in Silverton, east of Pretoria, have been without running water in their homes for the past six months.

There is only one small tap near the entrance where residents can get water for cooking and consumption. They use a fire hose to wash their clothes. They have been warned they will be fined for using the fire hose but say they do not have any other option.

The water is sometimes turned on between 11pm and midnight, when residents are asleep, or at irregular hours during the day when they are at school and work.

They complain that their toilets are starting to smell and say it is very unhygienic, especially for their children. The building’s caretaker, Dennis Neale, said the Tshwane municipality first said they imposed water restrictions on the building.

“Then they said they were working on the pipelines. We don’t know the truth of what is actually happening here, but this problem has been going on for the last six months. “The water comes on at irregular intervals and it sometimes only stays on for two hours,” he said.

“The residents are now blaming me, saying I am turning the water off to save water. “There are a lot of children here. They play during the day and get really dirty and there is no water for them to bath.”

He said no other nearby buildings had the same problem. Neale said all the flats are privately owned. “Many people have since moved out, but not everybody is lucky enough to just pack up and go.”

Resident Queen Mosehle said they pay R3 500-R5  000 a month to rent the flats. Electricity can be as high as R1 900. “We cannot understand why the other buildings that surround us do not have the same problem.”

Pobetsi Madishe was using water from the fire hose to wash her clothes yesterday. “Tomorrow we have to go to work and school and there is no water to wash. Our toilets are starting to smell. We can’t wash our hands after using the toilet and this is not good for our health.”

City of Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo yesterday told The Citizen they would urgently investigate the situation.

“It could be that a water restriction was imposed for consuming too much water and a burst pipe in the area might have made it worse.” Meanwhile, residents have to carry buckets and bottles of water to as high as the fourth floor.

– virginiak@citizen.co.za