A burst pipe in High Street, Rosettenville, has been left unfixed for over a month, posing a life-threatening risk to nearby residents who have experienced electric shocks when touching their metal water taps.

Despite being reported by Ward 56 Clr Michael Crichton on January 27 and multiple escalations to JHB Water South Dale Depot, the issue persists.

“Shockingly, Joburg Water claimed the issue was resolved on February 9, when it wasn’t,” said Crichton.
The councillor has slammed Joburg Water for its inaction, citing this as one of many unresolved burst pipes and water leaks in Ward 56.

The councillor is escalating the issue to the managing director of Joburg Water, Ntshavheni Mukwevho, for urgent intervention. He highlighted the waste of water and unfair blame on residents for high consumption during outages.

“Johannesburg is grappling with a water crisis, with 2 300 burst pipes, 422 leaking valves, and 42 leaking reservoirs reported.

“The city’s water infrastructure is under strain, with a R26.9b backlog and limited investment.”

Joburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala addressed the issue of the burst pipe in Rosettenville.

“I will look into the progress being made on fixing the burst pipe.”