Johannesburg - The City of Joburg is increasingly illegally cutting off residents’ water supply, flouting the constitution which states that everyone is entitled to water.
In terms of the by-laws, the city has to leave a trickle for residents to be able to access the free 6 kilolitres they are entitled to.
But this is never the case.
The Star’s MetroWatch receives numerous complaints from residents, some who admit they are in arrears and others who have a dispute on their bills about having their water cut off.
Dave Shackleton was left without water for two weeks after he received a water bill for over R109 000 following a leak he said was caused when Joburg Water replaced pipes in the Riverclub North, Sandton, area last May.
“They damaged the connection to the pipes to my property and water was leaking on a daily basis. I contacted them every month until November to report it, but nothing was done. My bill until then was normal, until I was slapped with a R54 000 bill. After complaining, they came to repair the pipes, but the meter was still faulty and there was still water running down the street,” he said.
Despite more complaints, nothing was done.
Then, in March, when his bill reached R109 000, city officials arrived and cut his water off.
For two weeks he was forced to shower at the gym and buy water to flush toilets and cook. It was only after an e-mail to Joburg Water’s chief executive Lungile Dhlamini threatening court action that his water was reconnected and the meter replaced.
However, he now has a huge bill which no one is prepared to assist him with.
“I am going overseas next month and I am scared they are going to cut me off again. I get nowhere with anyone. I have even been to the Sandton people’s centre and no assistance was given to me.
“The leaks happened because of Joburg Water staff or contractors and they placed the water losses on to me,” he said.
The Star reported recently the story of Geraldine Fillis of Bez Valley, who was without water for almost four months. It was only after the intervention of this newspaper that her supply was restored.
Attorney Gabriel da Matta said the city continuously did this. He said it was happening more frequently. He recently handled a case for a resident whose water was cut off. It was a household that had children and elderly people.
“The city deprives consumers of their constitutional rights to water and in the face of objection fails to adhere to the constitutional requirement to allow every household 6 free kilolitres of water.”
It was only after a threat of an urgent court interdict that the water was restored.
“In this case the resident was in arrears, however, the utility needs to adhere to the prevailing laws and by-laws when doing so, which it has failed to do herein,” he said.
The advice Da Matta gives is that if water is completely cut, the resident should log a query for it to be restored to at least 6 kilolitres per month immediately.
“This is what we call a trickle. But, in reality, the city does not have the physical ability in terms of systems to limit the flow to this amount, and so it either cuts off completely, or doesn’t cut at all.”
If the problem is not being dealt with, the consumers can bring an urgent application to court.