Resident irate at city that is unable to provide him with a steady water supply
How often do we get what we are still expected to pay for, really, it is outrageous, says Coenraad Rall.
Coenraad Rall lives on Second Avenue in Westdene and is at the end of his tether with Johannesburg Water.
Since 2016, he has had either no water or low-pressure water to his home which he relies on for an income as an Air B&B accommodation venue.
“I cancel essential bookings every month because I cannot charge people to stay here when they can’t even wash themselves. It is totally unacceptable.”
When the Northcliff Melville Times visited him last week there was a trickle of water from the taps, it was day 12 of the current pressure problem.
“Joburg Water technicians were at my house again this morning. They checked all my pipes and confirmed it was an area problem and there was nothing they could do for me. This is day 12 of virtually no water and nobody will help me. I don’t know how to carry on.”
Not only is water an issue, but load-shedding is ‘hell’ too. In a bid to mitigate against load-shedding, he installed gas heaters for hot water. Unlike regular geysers they do not store water so when he has no supply, he can’t empty his geyser to have a shower. Not only that but when the pressure is too low it does not trigger the little flame that warms the water. “I am truly at the end of my being exasperated.”
He says years of different tactics have been employed. “I have called, emailed, shouted, sworn, cried, asked the councillor for help, sent messages to the mayor – nothing works. I have over 50 reference numbers for technical help, but it is all for nought.”
He states the constant to-and-fro of blame between Joburg Water, Rand Water, Eskom with load-shedding affecting water pumping, and so on, results in residents being left wanting for services they pay for.
“I pay my monthly municipal bill but for what? How often do we get what we are still expected to pay for, really, it is outrageous!”
Ward 69 councillor Genevieve Sherman says she truly empathises with Rall’s plight.
“As a fellow resident of the city, it is impossible not to feel terrible about this situation. It is unacceptable that people are struggling with water in 2023 but I don’t know what else to do to help him apart from escalating the problems to service providers and asking for help.”
Councillors are not allowed to instruct city entities on what to do in rules set out by the council, which largely stalls them from being more proactive.
“What we all need to do, including residents, is not only engage with elected officials like me, but really hold the administrators of the city accountable. They are the ones who run entities like Joburg Water, City Power, and others. The buck can’t stop with councillors if any improvements are to be seen in the long term.”
Johannesburg Water’s Nolwazi Dhlamini said in response to questions about supply to Westdene at the moment, “Johannesburg Water systems have been affected by a power failure that occurred at Rand Water. This affected the bulk water supplier’s total pumping system. The Hursthill reservoirs are therefore still critically low but slowly recovering.”
When asked about supply to the area for the last year, the response was, “Johannesburg Water has recently encountered water outages primarily resulting from maintenance activities, burst water pipes, and occasional poor pressure on the water supply from our bulk supplier. To address this recurring issue, Johannesburg Water has taken steps to initiate a long-term solution by engaging a contractor for the comprehensive infrastructure upgrade.”
Some of the reference numbers logged by Rall received the following feedback to the Northcliff Melville Times for a window into the issues at play:
- Water normal
- Burst pipe
- Water normal
- No water or low pressure.
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