Residents urged to sign petition to have Kite Street Water Tower recommissioned

Ward 85 Clr Zone Hughes recently tabled a motion urging the City of Joburg to explore recommissioning the Kite Street Water Tower.

This vital infrastructure has been cordoned off for almost two decades now, leaving residents of Swan Circle and adjacent areas in Horison with an unpredictable water supply.

The Kite Street Tower is one of many reservoirs dotted along Ontdekkers Road and was shut down for cleaning. Since then residents have been battling with lower pressure water supply, and when load-shedding struck, their taps ran completely dry.

“Today in council, I tabled a motion requesting the city to conduct a feasibility study on the possibility of recommissioning the Kite Street Water Tower. Since its decommissioning in the early 2000s, residents have endured an unstable water supply,” a statement sent to the Roodepoort Record by Hughes read.

She said unfortunately this motion was voted out by different political parties, and she is now urging residents to continue to sign the petition to fight for their basic right of receiving consistent water supply.

“During the debate of tabling, the MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department stated that a feasibility study had already been conducted and that a short-term solution would be to provide a generator to the Finch Street Tower. This comes after I first proposed this motion for generators at the Finch Street Tower in November 2023.

“This is unacceptable that certain political parties would deny residents their basic right to water for the sake of political games.

“In response to their decision and the MMC’s remarks, I will be resubmitting the petition started in April 2023, which has already gathered over 400 residents’ signatures.”

Residents who still wish to sign the petition can do so by visiting this link.

You can also watch the motion here.