Following numerous calls logged and visits to report the water leak on Surrey Avenue in Ferndale, outside the Vertical Spaces building, Joburg Water still has not fixed the issue.
The leak has been an issue for over seven months and there has been a significant change in the water bill of Vertical Spaces.
Chantal Rajagopaul senior manager explained that their bill has escalated, and they cannot recover this from tenants, so they are running at a loss.
The bill was in the region of R 50 000 to R 54 916 in October 2023. They used to pay around R10 000, then from August, the bill escalated around the same time the leak started.
“We are told they are aware of the problem but have no transport to come resolve the matter. Our water bill has escalated thus making it very difficult to run the business. Tenants are complaining. And on top of this, they still want to disconnect us for non-payment. Such a waste of water. To date, nothing has been done.”
Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Lushaba confirmed to the Randburg Sun that their technical team needs to check if the leak is situated on the side of the property that Johannesburg Water is liable for, or if it is situated on the side of the property that the customer is liable for and if the leak is on their side and the entity is responsible for the escalated bill over the last few months.
The leak is increasingly becoming worse with more and more water being wasted and running down the streets. It seems to be coming from between the two valves and the meter.
Shabalala confirmed that the Johannesburg Water team has been to the site to assess the matter. “Upon assessment, it was found that two gate valves are needed to complete the repairs. Because this material was not available/in stock, the depot needed to place an order for the procurement of the material. The repairs will be attended to as soon as the required materials become available.”
“There was a shortage of material to execute the work. However, the material has been ordered. Furthermore, the entity has a huge backlog of water pipe bursts and leaks due to ageing infrastructure. Ageing infrastructure plays a role in this backlog in that as the number of bursts increases, the number of excavations also increases.”
She added that Johannesburg Water is indeed concerned about water wastage that is caused by bursts and leaks. Hence the entity is constantly working to improve the turnaround times for repairs.
She concluded that part of the budget for the 2023/2024 financial year will focus on programmes geared towards water and sewer pipe replacement, upgrades, and storage infrastructure, as well as repairs and maintenance.
“Johannesburg Water capacity upgrade and renewal programmes cater for the augmentation of water supply and the renewal of ageing infrastructure.”
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