While Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi was on Monday night outlining his plans to address the water crisis in his state of the province address, Westbury and Coronationville residents were getting ready to close roads due to taps they say have run dry for almost a decade.
On Tuesday morning, frustrated residents blocked the intersection at Harmony and Fuel roads, demanding urgent intervention over persistent water shortages in the areas.
They used burning tyres and debris to barricade the busy intersection, saying they have endured erratic water supply for nearly a decade.
According to Johann Domingo, the situation has become unbearable.
“We don’t have water in our taps and it is a problem. We are on for a month then it goes off again. How do we bath, wash, cook and prepare for work and our children for school?” he asked.
Domingo said water often returns at midnight, only to be cut again by 5am.
“Water is a necessity and not a luxury. The City (of Johannesburg) keeps promising to resolve the matter but nothing happens.
“Instead they send tankers with water we don’t trust for consumption, only for cleaning and laundry. For drinking we have to fetch from a nearby mosque where the queues are always long.”
Julie Faghmay, a cancer patient who lives in a nearby old age village, said the shortages have taken a heavy toll on her health and dignity.
“As an elderly person and cancer patient I consistently need water for medication and cleaning up, but it’s not always there,” the 77-year-old pensioner said.
“I have to set an alarm daily for midnight to check if water is back so I can flush my toilet, clean my surroundings and refill containers,” she said.
“It’s not a nice way to live. We are tired of the promises. We want government to come here and engage us. We had the premier making promises on TV last night during his provincial address.
“He must come here or book us a hotel for a bath,” Faghmay said.
She was making the remarks against a backdrop of Lesufi claiming he has also been affected by Joburg’s water crisis and has to bath in hotels.
Joburg Water said supply has not yet returned to consistent normal levels required to keep the system adequately pressurised.
Among the areas affected are those being serviced by the Hursthill 1 reservoir, the water entity said.
“The bulk supplier is working to restore normal supply to Eikenhof, which will assist in restoring incoming supply to Johannesburg Water’s Commando system
“Hursthill 1 serpentine link between Crosby pumping main and HH1 is partially open at 25% and supplying fairly. However, high-lying areas could be impacted with low pressure or no water.”
DA councillor Genevieve Joeline Sherman said it has been eight years since they had an uninterrupted water supply.
According to Sherman, she engaged which the city on the matter, particularly the speaker of Council, and was told a city representative would be sent to address residents.
Sherman is in charge of ward 6, which includes Coronationville, Westbury, Westdene, Brixton, Hursthill, Melville (west side of Main Road), Rossmore and part of the Slovo informal settlement.
“From what we understand, the cause of water challenges is because Hursthill 1 reservoir, which feeds sections of this ward, has been affected and is on bypass because it has been decommissioned as it has cracks and needs repair.
“What is happening is that residents have been put on a direct line but the issue we have with that direct line is if Rand Water or Joburg Water does not have enough to supply, that is when we have situations we have now where we don’t have water in our taps and are forced to rely on tankers.
“This is unsustainable. I have consulted with council regarding the protest so they can come and address the residents. We are hoping they can be honest.”
While giving his state of province address, Lesufi blamed infrastructure failures, leaks and high-demand peaks for the water shortage crisis, and announced a R760m infrastructure upgrade in the city.
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