ICYMI: Lonehill resident frustrated with burst pipe

A Lonehill resident has shared his concerns about the length of time it took for a burst water pipe near his meter to be fixed.

Ian Smith* and his wife, Candice woke up to phone calls from their neighbours early on the morning of 18 October, alerting them to their burst water pipe. Ian went to turn off the meter but was unsuccessful in stopping the leak from the pipe.

Ian then tried to get in touch with Johannesburg Water on Twitter after many calls had gone dead.

“I had made 12 phone calls, eight Twitter posts and received two reference numbers. Nothing was communicated to me all that time,” he said.

He added that Ward 94 councillor David Foley assisted with contacting the depot but there was nothing else he could do. The next day, on 19 October, Johannesburg Water came to the residence in the afternoon to fix the leak.

“That Sunday [18 October], we had to use filled jugs of water until the next day since we turned off the meter. I’m just grateful water is not flowing down the street anymore because it really was a waste of water,” Smith said.

Spokesperson for Johannesburg Water, Isaac Dhludhlu said burst water pipes could occur due to a variety of reasons. “The problem could have been old infrastructure, normal wear and tear, higher pressure and battery failures. So we normally ensure that we respond and resolve the problem to minimise impact,” he said.

Dhludhlu said the standard turnaround time varies between one and 48 hours, and that customers were urged to clearly state if the matter was one of urgency.

“Calls logged and turnaround times vary from depot to depot based on the workload they have on the day. Customers should only log one call because logging too many calls end up being closed as duplicates,” he concluded.

*Ian requested that his last name not be used in the article.