Water woes not taken seriously by local government
A new anomaly as some residents see air in water pipes making the meter run resulting in high water bills from the city.
OUTA’s WaterCAN initiative headed up by Dr Ferrial Adams is part of the Water Crisis Committee (WCC), a group of water science activists and civil society lobbying the government to deliver on its mandate of regular and safe water for the city.
They have launched an online platform on which they hope residents will engage in tracking and logging water problems.
The spokesperson for WCC, Farah Domingo, and others in the city have noticed their water meters running as air flows through the water pipes at speed. Apart from the problem of no water, they will be billed by the City for water usage based on meter readings.
Adams says, “WaterCAN is conducting a nationwide survey to understand the extent of billing irregularities related to air in water pipes which causes false readings in water meters. Recent discussions with some residents in Johannesburg have highlighted concerns about residents being charged exorbitant amounts on their water usage but upon further investigation finding that it is due to air passing through their water meters.”
“Many people have raised this issue with us at WaterCAN saying they are being charged for air running through their water meters, especially when there has been a burst pipe in their region, or during water shifting, leaving them with exorbitant amounts to pay for something they did not use. Often it is very difficult to resolve this dispute with the municipality.”
To participate in the survey, follow the link watercan.org.za/air-in-water-meter.
“We will evaluate the outcome of the survey every two weeks and share the information. As individuals, we are weak to challenge this air billing but as a collective, we have a stronger voice to be heard. This has been going on for years and someone in government has to listen.”
When the WCC handed a memorandum of demands to the Executive Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda almost 120 days ago. They had high hopes to be a respected partner with local government and water entities to find solutions to water woes.
The mayor promised, at the time, to meet them within 14 days and provide feedback on demands. The meeting finally happened on January 29, but no report was provided to outline responses to issues raised by the WCC. The reason for no feedback despite having taken three months was due in part, he said, due to budget reductions which required prioritising and mitigating service delivery challenges, among other excuses.
Johannesburg Water likewise gave another overview of problems necessitating water throttling and reduced supply and other problems but did not respond directly with possible solutions.
Despite this, the WCC said, “As a committee, we still have a long journey ahead of us. However, as the experience of the first three months has shown, we are making significant progress in understanding and addressing the issues raised. We are confident that every effort will eventually lead to a successful outcome.”
Mark Heywood, a resident and activist near Alberts Farm says, “My observations are of fairly frequent bursts and leaks that are sometimes not attended to for days at a time despite the water shortages that the city faces. In Alberts Farm in particular I have observed significant pollution and septic tank overflows where sometimes there is raw sewerage flowing out of drains for days at a time. That is dangerous because when it occurs above the stream, which many people go to for religious purposes or is used by some to collect water to be drunk, it presents a real danger.”
He says this is one example of problems that are found across the cityscape showing an inability of the City to respond and react to problems timeously, thereby adding to existing problems.
To log water leaks or outages with WaterCAN, go to watercan.org.za/nowatermap
The Executive Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, City of Johannesburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane and Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala didn’t respond to questions raised for this article at the time of going to print. Their responses will be printed when they are received.
Related article: Water Crisis Committee activists organise more formally to ensure maximum impact
