A household at Plot 70, along the R23 Standerton/Balfour Road, has reportedly been without water since September 10.

Residents said they had allegedly gone approximately 11 days without a reliable supply, affecting basic household activities such as drinking, bathing, cooking and cleaning.

The property was previously associated with JW Luckhoff High School, although signage at the facility now identifies it as the Mabutho Hlatshwayo Treatment Centre.

According to residents, the problem may be affecting more than 10 households in the area. However, the exact number of affected households could not be independently confirmed.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said the situation had become increasingly difficult for the household.

“We have been without water for days, and it is affecting everything we do at home. We need water for drinking, bathing, cooking and cleaning. It is difficult when you do not know when the water will come back. The biggest problem is that we do not have clear information. We do not know what is causing the problem, when it will be fixed or whether there is any alternative water supply available to us,” she said.

The family said they had allegedly tried to get help from Lesedi Local Municipality, including contacting Executive Mayor Mluleki Nkosi by telephone and WhatsApp.

They also tried to report the matter through the municipality’s CEO App, but the property reportedly could not be located on the system. The family believes this could be linked to the property’s change in designation from JW Luckhoff High School to the Mabutho Hlatshwayo Treatment Centre.

The issue was also raised in Heidelberg community WhatsApp groups. Residents said they were then directed to a Lesedi Municipality group, but only gained access on September 21.

The affected household reportedly received no formal communication explaining the cause of the outage or providing a timeframe for restoration.

On September 4, Lesedi Local Municipality and Rand Water held a high-level meeting to address recurring water interruptions affecting communities across the municipality.

The two entities agreed on an intervention to improve supply, although the municipality said it was not a permanent solution.

Earlier in September, the municipality also warned that water levels at the Emmasdal, Heidelberg Command and Hill reservoirs had fallen below 20%, resulting in reduced supply and low pressure in some parts of Heidelberg.

However, the residents said the current situation goes beyond low pressure or intermittent interruptions.
“We understand that there have been water problems in Heidelberg, but in our case we have had no water for days. We want to know what is happening and when the supply will be restored,” she said.

We sent an inquiry about the situation to the Lesedi Local Municipality. At the time of publication, we had not received a comment.

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