A water war is brewing in Glencoe after private contractors hired by Umzinyathi District Municipality removed water meters at households whose bills were said to be in arrears.
At least 60 residents were affected in the mainly Kemp, Celle and Damman Street areas.
Residents who spoke to the Courier said they were taken aback. Many claimed they never received an account but paid what they thought they should pay to prevent cut-offs.

Letters were sent out, claiming that the bills were in arrears. One woman said the municipality claimed she owed R65,000, which she said ‘is totally impossible’.
“We don’t even have water during the day, for days on end. How do they calculate this?” she asked. A Kemp Street resident said the contractors were welcome to remove his water meter, as he has a borehole and is off-grid.
“They said they are taking my meter because I’m in arrears. I said I never received a bill and I never use municipal water. But I put back my own water through their sewer system. With all these cut-offs and Endumeni experiencing water-shedding, the sewerage works that need flowing water to operate could start leading to health concerns.”

He added that after perusing the cut-off list used by the contractors, he noticed that only Glencoe town residents were affected.
“Others in other areas like Glenridge and Sithembile were not targeted. Why?”

A Glencoe business reported that they had been ‘fighting’ their water bill since 2013.
According to a letter from Umzinyathi District Municipality, the business owed R185,000 even though they were paying R1500 a month.
“It’s impossible to notch up such a huge bill.
“Most days, there is never water.
“This crazy billing system has been going on for over 10 years. In March, our bill jumped from R35,000 to R133,000. We were told that R1500 was allocated to paying off interest.”

A private home was billed R85,000, but when the homeowner went to Umzinyathi’s office to query the account, she was allegedly told that according to the system, she ‘only’ owed R49,000.
She is also questioning this. The water meter at her house was damaged when the contractors disconnected it.
Ward 7 Councillor Saleem Abdool told the Courier he was aware of all the water issues and had been visiting the affected residents.
“We are taking this up with Umzinyathi District Municipality. I have called for an investigation into their billing system and that the situation be rectified to bring relief to residents.”
Umzinyathi District Municipality has been asked for a response and this will be published once it is forthcoming.

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