Ebotse water issues not isolated to the estate
Estate management is working with the ward councilor to apply pressure to have the matter resolved.
Since March, residents of Ebotse Golf and Country Estate have noticed a drastic drop in water pressure, with some claiming to be left without water for most parts of the day, daily.
A resident of the upmarket estate contacted the Benoni City Times saying that despite the ongoing water issues plaguing residences, it appears that the estate management is wasting the precious resource to water the links and other public spaces.
“Making use of the Ebotse Homeowners Association’s (EHOA) communication platforms we are constantly reminded to use water sparingly but looking out on the fairways the sprinklers run daily ensuring that the greens are plush and pristine,” said the resident, who wished to remain anonymous.
“For the past couple of weeks I have had to shower everywhere but in my own home due to the taps running dry. I cannot even do a load of washing yet it seems that there is water for everything but our homes.”
Estate manager Thasan Moodley weighed in on the complaints, assuring the newspaper that water used on the estate’s public spaces is not derived from the municipal water system and, therefore, is not to blame for the ongoing water pressure problem.
He explained that the estate water used for the irrigation of the golf course is sourced from the grey water system it has in place.
“We have an irrigation dam which captures all the storm water from inside and outside the estate, which keeps our dam filled all year round,” said Moodley.
“A pump station next to the dam, pumps water into the sprinkler systems on the golf course. We do not make use of council water to refill the irrigation dam.”
Moodley continued saying that following consultation with Ward 27 councillor, Lornette Joseph as well as departmental heads of the Ekurhuleni Metro’s Department of Water and Sanitation, it has been established that the estate’s water woes are not isolated and that Northmead and Rynfield are also affected.
“Frequent load-shedding has had a severe impact on our water supply as well as that of neighbouring suburbs,” he said.
“The knock-on effect will only be resolved once the metro, based on findings from its engineers, prioritise the installation of back-up generators at Benoni 1 and 2 reservoirs, which feeds our water systems.
“Installation of back-up generation capacity will ensure that the pressure in the ring feed system remains adequate, with load-shedding not affecting the pumps as currently is the case.”
He further explained that the estate is working closely with Joseph as well as the relevant department to not only motivate the urgency of making the necessary upgrades to the affected reservoirs, but has availed its maintenance teams and equipment if needed to dig up faults on the pipelines outside the estate in order to fast track repairs.
“We appreciate that this situation is a cause of great frustration amongst our residents, we are however working with all the key role players in an attempt to have the matter addressed effectively,” said Moodley.
“We do our upmost to communicate issues with our valued residents while working towards a sustainable solution which would benefit not only this estate but neighbouring suburbs.”
ALSO READ: UPDATE: Large scale power and water outages continue
ALSO READ: No water lands utility in hot water
