Many of these meters have since been replaced with plastic meters containing no copper.
However almost a year later people are still struggling to get their meter replaced after reporting it stolen many times. According to two pensioners living in Van der Stel Street, Extension 3, their water meter was stolen a couple of weeks after they moved into their house about a year ago.
They woke up one morning to find water gushing out of the pipe that their meter was attached to. A new water meter has since not been installed and every month they get charged varying amounts for water usage that they pay every month.
The amounts fluctuate between R800 and R1800 a month.
“We cannot keep on paying these amounts. We are pensioners so we need to budget for these things,” said the resident.
Another case that was brought to the attention of WITBANK NEWS recently was that of a household in Daniel Malan Street, where the homeowner is paying a fee for not having a water meter installed even though they apparently have reported it to the municipality as stolen several times.
The municipality has been contacted for comment and no response was received.
Water Meters have been stolen even by Municipaities CONTRACTORS Whom remove existing Brass Meters that have no problems and replace with plastic meters without reporting the exchange to the W&L Department thus causing unnessassary costs of R800 plus to be added to you Account. The brass meters then dissapear