Resident shares her unnecessary struggles with water after experiencing great loss
Despite having already suffered the loss of one of her children, she now has to deal with an unusually large water bill.
Linda Allie, a mother of two, thought life could not deal her any more blows after losing one of her twin babies due to a bacterial infection, but alas she received a near-impossible water bill from Joburg Water (JW) recently, despite not having any water at her home.
The mother who also has to take care of her five-year-old who has cerebral palsy, explained her twins were born at 32 weeks old but one of them did not survive due to her having a bacterial infection as she did not have water at the time. This is aside from the fact that she had to carry heavy water containers while pregnant.
In June 2022, Joburg Water (JW) came to replace all the meters and put in a new one. She asked for the meter to be taken out and a new one put in or even her old one, as it never gave her any trouble. The response to this was however that she had to pay R5 000 for the meter to be tested as it cannot simply be replaced. Allie explained the situation with her high water bill started in November 2022 when she received a bill for around R15 000, which she paid.
“I just thought, let me pay, and we can start at zero,” noted Allie.
After this, she decided to replace the pipes in her whole house to check that there were no leaks. This meant she had no water as there were no pipes, yet she still received a bill in February for around R21 000, despite there still not being any water. To date, her bill is over R56 000 even though she last had water at her house in November 2022.
“I don’t understand why I have to carry the load of their shortfall,” said Allie.
Allie explained she reported the issue to JW as it does not make any sense, she does not have a pool and it is only her and her two small children living there.
She explained she has to go to her siblings in Discovery and Lindhaven respectively to gather water so she can take care of her two children. She has to then leave her five-year-old with a family member while she goes to fetch water as it disturbs her routine while taking her newborn with her.
“I am very blessed to have such a great family to help me out, but I can’t just put my troubles on them, I have to give them something for the water I use, otherwise they would also have to pay such a large amount of money for water,” added Allie.
This is aside from the money she has to spend on sanitisers to at least be able to disinfect the surfaces, she also has to flush the toilet with their bathwater and she has to take her washing to her siblings as well.
Johannesburg Water referred the Record’s queries about the matter to the City of Johannesburg; which has not commented by the time the article was published. As soon as comment is received, an update will be published.
