‘We dream of water’: Protea residents’ daily struggle without water

For three years since buying their dream homes, which are now their worst nightmares, residents of Protea Glen Extension 39 in Soweto have not had water.

They are forced to wake up at midnight to try to fill their bathtubs with the little water that comes out of taps when demand is low.

Water only available for a short period after midnight

Resident Khathutshelo Modau said at times she woke up at midnight but there was not even a little water.

READ: Mchunu calls for immediate action to speed up Sekhukhune water projects

Modau said in some cases it was not a matter of low pressure but that there was no water at all.

“Taking a bath is a treat. I sometimes wake up at 2 am to take a bath. I have two boys and I have to
wake them up at about 3.30 am to take a bath before they have to go to school,” she said.

“They then go back to sleep. I leave a small bucket of water so that they can brush their teeth and freshen up their faces.”

“It’s even challenging to do laundry. Sometimes you wake up and there is load shedding. The power is off at midnight and it comes back at 4 am.

“So you are not able to use the washing machine to do laundry.”

She said when she received the keys to the house in December 2020, there was no water and the agent was building other houses nearby.

“It started with low pressure, to no water at all. I’ve contacted someone to do a Jojo tank with water pressure for me but they charge R38,000.

“I can’t pay that when I’m buying water and paying for services.”

Modau said she felt like she was stuck with a problem that she could not solve There’s no way I can sell this house.

“If I were to sell it, there would be no way I’d tell the person buying this house the challenges that we are
going through.

“If you tell a person there is no water, there’s no way they will buy this house,” Modau said.

ALSO READ: City promises that water infrastructure will be ready for festive season

Another resident, Vumile Velaphi, also said they have been struggling for water since they moved in three years ago.

No help from local councillor

Velaphi said the water normally comes back at midnight, but by 4 am there is none left.

He said despite raising the issue with the local council, they have not been assisted with water tankers.

“This is a violation of our human rights. Our health standards are compromised. My kids can’t come over for the weekend, I can’t host anyone,” he said

“It’s a struggle to clean the house, take a bath, flush the toilet. It’s just a struggle – and I invested a lot of money to buy the house and pay for the services from the municipality.

“We have engaged the councillor lots of times but he says it’s a general problem, he has never
brought a water tanker here.”

Velaphi said because they were already on prepaid, they were stuck with a lot of units of water
that they couldn’t use.

“You are sitting with 2,000 litres, but when you run your tap, nothing happens.”

He said because it was the weekend, they would probably only see a few drops of water today.

Resident Miyelani Mabasa said the strange thing was that when it was election time, the water
supply was fine.

“During the local government elections, we had water. Now we are registering to vote, I can guarantee you that come voting week next year, there will be water,” Mabasa said.

High demand?

MMC for environment and infrastructure services, Jack Sekwaila, said the issue in the area was low pressure.

Sekwaila said the reservoir might have inadequate capacity to meet the demand of the area.

“There is a new development and there has been no increment in terms of the capacity of the
reservoir.

“If you build a reservoir with a capacity for 3,000 houses and then you bring in a new development where and build 2,000 houses without building another reservoir, the likelihood is that during peak times, especially high-lying areas, might experience low pressure or get no water at all,” he said.

“We will engage with the council and we are expecting a report from the engineers on what is happening.”

“If it was a low-pressure issue they might need to engage the council about building another reservoir, he said.

He said he was also going to “push” for Joburg Water to take action.

“If there is no water now, we should be able to provide residents with roaming water tankers.”

“In the meantime, we will be dealing with the long-term problem,” he added.

–lungam@citizen.co.za

NOW READ: Water crisis looms: SA could be out of water within 7 years