'We have an incompetent city that does not maintain infrastructure or fix water leaks.'
Residents did not respond well to the City of Tshwane’s call to cut water consumption or face the consequences.
City of Tshwane (CoT) spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said that if consumption levels continue at the current pace, the city will imminently adjust the water restrictions to level 2 or even higher. It was not made clear what these restrictions would involve.
“Tshwane’s high consumption figures continue to rise and therefore residents and businesses in Tshwane are warned that if the current high consumption pattern does not change, the city’s distribution network may run dry in the next month or two,” he said.
Mashigo said this behaviour was putting the city’s bulk water system under severe strain and may lead to the municipality’s system eventually collapsing.
“The existential problem is not Tshwane’s water network, but the indifferent behaviour of consumers, who consistently fail to heed the city’s call for water conservation.
“Rand Water has identified Tshwane as the second-highest consuming municipality in Gauteng province.
“As of 8 September, Rand Water was pumping 926 million litres per day to Tshwane, when it is supposed to be pumping 662 million litres per day. This is 22% more than the city’s permitted limit,” he said.
‘Fix water leaks’
Mashigo said the high consumption was attributed to 16 of the city’s reservoirs, which reflected excessively high consumption patterns.
“It is disheartening to note that consumers’ behaviour has not changed, despite the city’s series of requests to consumers to use water sparingly,” he said.
Residents have, however, clapped back and told City of Tshwane to “voetsek” and fix the leaks.
Pretoria resident Ruan Lombard said the city did not have a water problem.
“We have an incompetent city that does not maintain infrastructure or fix leaks. Most of the water pumped from Rand Water is wasted due to leaks and damage to infrastructure. Citizens now again need to suffer due to the City of Tshwane’s incompetence,” he added.
Another resident, who agreed to speak anonymously, said the CoT had to fix its own mess.
“This is not our problem, yet you are making it our problem. It becomes an inconvenience for the residents, especially those who pay for these services. We pay an arm and a leg for water, and therefore it is your responsibility to upgrade the infrastructure, fix leaking pipes and make sure we get a sufficient supply. We shouldn’t struggle for something we pay for.”
The resident said the city expected residents to be understanding in such situations, but they were not as understanding when it came to residents paying bills or the cleansing levy.
“The city even has the nerve to send us letters of demand if we dare skip even a single month of not paying.”
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Relocating funds
Meanwhile, in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), DA Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku has criticised the mayor for reallocating billions from Johannesburg Water in the middle of a crisis affecting many communities across the City.
“This R4 billion could and should have been used to address the root causes of the water losses, such as upgrading leaking pipes and repairing cracked reservoirs,” she added.
Last weekend, many residents spent the weekend without water due to what the city’s mayor, Dada Morero, described as challenges faced by the metro in managing the water demand throughout Johannesburg.
Joburg Water also announced a throttling schedule in response to the rising water consumption in various areas.
Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo said Rand Water has no restrictions at all.
“The two metros’ [Johannesburg and Tshwane] consumption has increased; therefore, they have a duty to encourage residents to use water sparingly. We know that this time of the year, consumers with pools are filling them up, sprinklers are on,” she said.
Maroo added that other factors include leaks and illegal connections.
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