The weekend of September 12 was once again marred by water interruptions, leaving taps in Rynfield and Morehill dry.

The outage was attributed to a pump stoppage at Rand Water’s Zwartkoppies pump station, which directly feeds the Benoni reservoir, thus affecting areas supplied by the Northmead water tower on Hospital Road.

However, a bombshell revelation by Ward 27 Clr Lornette Joseph that the newly commissioned 5.5-megalitre water tower is yet to start supplying more than 105 000 residents across four wards has left the community seething.

“Despite the fanfare and publicity surrounding the opening of the water tower, three months on, the tower stands idle,” she said in a post circulated on community WhatsApp groups.

During a telephonic interview with the Benoni City Times, Joseph said she was informed by officials from the City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) Department of Water and Sanitation that, as a result of the Rand Water fault, the water levels in the old tower were at 5m, while the new tower was at 70% capacity.

“The purpose of building the R47m tower was to augment the city’s current water supply system, thus ensuring 72 hours of service in the event of an interruption,” she said.

“According to officials, the opening of the valve on June 13 by MMC for Water and Sanitation, Thembi Msane, signalling the tower coming into operation, was ceremonial. The gushing water was flushed down the drain, and filling of the tower only commenced at a later stage.”

She said the latest delay in the eight-year project is due to the department needing to fulfil its mandate to complete its quality control processes.

“On September 13, required and prescribed chemicals were administered to the water. Following a three-day waiting period, the water quality must be tested. If the results meet the prescribed criteria, the water is deemed safe for human consumption, and it will be pumped as part of the supply chain,” explained Joseph.

“If the tests fail, the tower must be drained, and the process of filling, chemical treatment, and testing must be completed again.”

Joseph reiterated that the 23m tower is not currently operational and residents have therefore not been exposed to untreated water.

“It is shocking that the CoE has misled a community that has been plagued by continuous and lengthy water interruptions. I have submitted questions to the council as well as the relevant departments, demanding transparency,” she said.

“The implementation of the water tower was supposed to alleviate these ongoing problems, but the snail-pace execution of departmental processes is failing the community.”

The City Times has approached the CoE for comment, but none had been received at the time of publication.

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