Despite being reported and escalated by residents and the local councillor, Johannesburg Water (JW) has failed to attend to the water leak on the corner of Gordon and Mackay avenues in Blairgowrie.
Read more: Five-year water leak on church grounds, and Johannesburg Water has done nothing
The leak was first reported on August 3, and fresh water continues to run down the streets. Nearby residents have created a water way, to direct the water away from their properties, but it is still causing damage to the side of the road, as well as to other roads, most noticeably Judy Road.
Ward 102 councillor Lucinda Harman recently visited the site with MP and DA Spokesperson on Water and Sanitation Stephen Moore. She raised concerns about the entity not attending to the leak, while thousands of litres of water was lost. “This has been going since August, and JW hasn’t pitched to repair it. This water is running all the way down to Jan Smuts Road. We are losing thousands of litres of clean water.”
Also read: Councillor slams delay in fixing leak
Moore said that such leaks may look like nothing, but Johannesburg is losing a lot of water, and it all adds up. He encouraged residents to keep working together with the councillor, and said that they will try and get JW to attend the leak.
Resident Mark Sher explained that they lose about 4 800 litres of water in a 12-hour period at this leak alone. “That is why they can’t keep the reservoirs full. They just blame Rand Water, for them to blame the mayor, and he points a finger at the city, and they blame residents. This is criminal. There are people who don’t have water. Water is precious and here it just runs down the streets.”
He added that the water doesn’t even run back into the rivers or reservoirs, as almost all the storm water drains are broken.
Questions were sent to JW, and they responded that they would liaise with the relevant depot to get more information. Their response will be published once made available.
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