Vandals target water infrastructure amidst looming water crisis
The city calls on residents to support its efforts to prevent the vandalism of critical infrastructure by reporting infrastructure related suspicious activities to 0860 54 3000.
Amidst fears of an impending water crisis in the province, criminals believed to be scrap metal collectors are now targeting the municipal-owned commercial and industrial bulk water meters in Boksburg.
In one of the latest incidents, vandals reportedly attempted to remove the water meter supplying the businesses on the corner of Rietfontein and Ravenswood roads, causing a huge volume of clean drinking water to go to waste from the water pipeline, while many residents across the City of Ekurhuleni are stuck with dry taps.
Another bulk water meter was reportedly damaged in Karen Road, Beyers Park.
Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said municipal crews were dispatched to the area where they found water gushing out of the damaged water conduit.
He said the critical resources wastage was immediately stopped and the meter was fixed
“Preliminary investigations suggests that some unscrupulous vandals, who were probably targeting the meter, unscrewed the bolts but abandoned their mission probably because of the pressure of the water that was gushing out from the pipes.
“The city strongly condemns such act of vandalism, which saw thousands of litres lost when thugs tempered with a meter in Rietfontein Road.
“What makes the situation even worse is that the province is struggling for water, hence the calls to use water sparingly.”
The city calls on residents to support its efforts to prevent the vandalism of critical infrastructure by reporting infrastructure related suspicious activities to 0860 54 3000.
“The public must know that vandalism, tampering and theft of critical infrastructure is a major crime in the country and carries a heavy sentence when you are caught.”
Water outages
Due to high water demand and low reservoir levels, the city has, for over the past couple of days, been experiencing water supply issues affecting various town.
Areas affected by the outages included Kempton Park, Bedfordview, Germiston, Chloorkop, Phomolong, Thembisa, KwaThema, Springs, Terenure and Van Riebeek Park.
Looming water restrictions
Rand Water has recently issued a warning about impending water crisis in Gauteng and called on all municipalities to ask their customers to use water sparingly.
Last month, the water utility stated that water storage levels throughout Gauteng Province have significantly declined due to excessive water withdrawals by municipalities, raising serious concerns.
“Rand Water has repeatedly warned municipalities in Gauteng about this potential crisis. We have communicated through letters, held meetings with many municipalities, and engaged in discussions at Gauteng’s Intergovernmental Governance Forum and the Gauteng Water Imbizo. Unfortunately, the crisis we sought to prevent has now materialised,” said Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo.
Also Read: Damaged infrastructure leaves Boksburg suburbs without water
“The water supply systems in Gauteng, including Rand Water reservoirs, are critically low and the situation is anticipated to worsen with the ongoing heat wave.
“Rand Water would like to alert communities, particularly in Gauteng, that water storage could soon be depleted if municipalities do not implement our recommendations. It is essential to act now to prevent the impending disaster.
“The only viable solution to address this issue is through water conservation and demand management.
In light of this, Rand Water has advised municipalities to reduce the physical losses of 33% identified in the No Drop report, repair leaks, enforce by-laws, and address illegal connections.
