Melville community rallies for water rights and reliable communication from Johannesburg Water
With World Water Day approaching, residents are advocating for more accountability and better communication from the water utility.
Residents of Melville picketed at the corner of Main and 4th Avenue on March 17, in light of World Water Day, which will be observed on March 22, saying the timing underscores a bitter irony: while global attention turns to water access, some communities are still struggling to secure it.
This was not their first demonstration, as frustration continues to grow across Melville, Sophiatown and Westdene. Resident Sophie Borsanyi said the situation is not unique, but more extreme. “I have friends in the United Kingdom, who also experience water shortages, but their situation is more extreme.”
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Borsanyi said the issue goes beyond intermittent outages. Even when water is available, she claims its quality is often questionable. “When we do have water, it’s discoloured. Sometimes there are things in it that shouldn’t be there,” she said. “I had a crew come out to test my water. I never got the results. I can’t get hold of anyone.”
While World Water Day is intended to raise awareness around such issues, Borsanyi believes these observances fall short of driving meaningful change.
Central to residents’ frustrations are an alleged lack of communication and transparency from Joburg Water, which she believes reflects a broader pattern. “It seems to be a tactic across the board; we do not get explanations, we just get told there is a problem.”
For Borsanyi, that messaging offers little reassurance. “I know there’s a problem—nothing is coming out of my tap,” she said. “That’s not communication.” Asked to rate the quality of official communication, Borsanyi’s response was blunt: “Zero. If not minus.”
The ongoing outages have also taken a toll on daily life. While some households have adapted by installing backup systems, the strain is evident. “This is day six of zero water in our street….last time we had no water for five weeks, but give it another week or two, and we’ll run out again.”
JW’s external communication officer, Nolwazi Ndlamini, acknowledged our media query about residents’ frustrations with their communication and said they will revert as soon as possible.
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