Reliable water supply seems like a pipe dream for some Fourways areas
Councillor of Ward 94 David Foley is having a hard time in resolving the water problems in his ward due to dilapidated water infrastructure and Johannesburg Water's budget constraints.
The service delivery challenges seem to never end in Fourways. While the traffic lights are malfunctioning, residents in some areas like Lonehill, Witkoppen, and Craigavon are also struggling with persistent problems related to unreliable water supply.
These everyday issues complicate life and create added frustrations for the community, forcing residents to question what Johannesburg Water (JW) is doing to address these service delivery issues.
Ward 94 councillor David Foley confirmed his ward is plagued with water problems. Foley hardly enjoyed his holidays in December because of going up and down attending to complaints about water outages and low pressure due to pipe bursts.
Also read: Ward 94 Cllr is still driving Fourways traffic lights issues
He blamed the dilapidated infrastructure, which has not been replaced over time to ensure stability. He said he has been engaging with relevant authorities to replace the old PVC pipes, which keep on bursting, with new ones. But, his requests are seemly falling on deaf ears.
“There are problems with budget constraints. There have been constant pipe bursts on Cedar and Uranium roads because of the old PVC pipes. Residents and businesses have to endure hours of no water. It then gets repaired, they are happy for a day or two, and then it bursts again. I am pushing to have the pipes replaced with new PVC pipes. The JW team in Randburg have done a good job attending to these pipe bursts, even though they keep on coming back again and again.”
He added that the water utility has recently repaired a pipe that was leaking for three years on Campbell Road, according to the JW team that was busy fixing it.
A resident from Lonehill, who wished not to be named to protect his relationship with clients, said it is important for any business, whether big, small, or corporate, to have their performance measured monthly and annually, to see if they are on a winning or losing path, and would appreciate if the water utility did the same.
“I doubt they even know what a KPI is, and clearly don’t measure anything given the number of repeat calls to issues. This requires a major shake up, and a totally different way of approaching the issue.”
Having run a commercial organisation, the resident said the water utility needs to adopt the key performance practice to avoid running in circles.
Puleng Mopeli, a media spokesperson for JW, was reached out to via email on January 20, and again on January 22, with a reminder to answer the following questions:
• What is the current status of the water infrastructure in Fourways, and what plans are in place to address the alleged aging PVC pipes? Please confirm if it is true that they are aging and the budget constraints allegations.
• Please share how does JW prioritize pipe replacements, and what criteria are used to determine which areas receive attention first.
• Are there contingency plans in place to minimize disruptions after the maintenances, and if so, what are they?
• Why, sometimes, does it take so long for excavations to be backfilled?
We had received no answers at the time of going to print.
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