Municipality says water meter in working order after R17 000 bill
Family argues the customer service team is wrong following its inspection, the meter must be faulty.
A water meter that read monthly bills of R17 000 and R11 000, and also apparently recorded usage despite there being a water outage in the area, has been deemed by the municipality to be in working order.
This follows a complaint from a family in Strijdom Park and Randburg Sun’s investigation of the matter.
Also read: Water meter runs even when water doesn’t
Johannesburg Water acting communications manager Seipati Nyawuza confirmed that since the publication contacted her for comment, a customer service team of the City paid a visit to the family.
They found the meter in working order and told Nyawuza, and the family, that the bills were correct.
“I do not believe it for a second,” resident Tammy Krause said in response.
“We do not use much water as a family. We don’t even refill the pool. When have you ever heard of bills so high. We have photos and videos of the meter going up while there is a water outage in the area.”
Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau encouraged the family to take the matter further by going to the City’s walk-in centre on Christiaan de Wet Road, Roodepoort.
“They then investigate and resolve [it],” he said.
“If not resolved I can escalate it after 90 days to the management team. With water, she [Tammy] must switch off everything and see if the meter moves. If yes, she has an internal leak.”
When this publication investigated, the meter’s recordings were stationary, but the couple said it was the first time they saw the meter reading not increasing.
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