Geraldene Kotzé had been in her home for just a year when Johannesburg Water reminded her, in the most inconvenient way possible, that reliable service delivery in this city is never guaranteed.
On April 21, this year, her water supply was cut off without any notice. What she expected to be a short interruption turned into four weeks of daily struggle.

“I did think it was temporary, or as per usual when there is a pipe burst,” said Kotzé. “But after my first logged call was closed with no resolution, I realised that we were in for a stretch. I never imagined it would be four weeks.”

Luckily, Kotzé had a supply of drinking water throughout the ordeal. But everything else became a challenge. Doing laundry was impossible. Washing dishes became a constant frustration. Even flushing the toilet required patience, as the cisterns took a very long time to refill. Her most drastic adjustment came in the early hours of the morning.

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“I had to wake up between 3am and 4am to run a bath,” she said. “That was when most people were still sleeping, and I could get some water through. It still took about 45 minutes.”
Her adult son, who lives with her, had to go to the gym to shower. Kotzé said that while she managed, she could not stop thinking about those who had it worse. “I felt sorry for the elderly and people with small children,” she said.

The day after the water went off, on April 22, Kotzé called the Johannesburg Water call centre to log a complaint and was given a reference number. That reference number, however, did not translate into action. She logged five calls in total and called back every second day to follow up. Not once did she receive feedback, and not once was she told what the problem actually was.

“I asked them to let me know what the problem was, but I was never given an answer,” she said. “They did not give me a timeline either.”

She also reached out to her ward councillor, hoping that the involvement of a local representative might move things along. It did not. “He was not helpful at all, and he did not provide feedback,” she claimed.

It was only after Kotzé contacted the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Dada Morero and reached out to the Randburg Sun that Johannesburg Water finally acted. The outcome only deepened her frustration. The repair, which had apparently taken weeks to locate, was completed in under five minutes.

“Johannesburg Water did not know where the problem was, but managed to get it fixed within five minutes,” she said.
No apology followed. No explanation was given. Kotzé said she is now watching her next water bill closely. “It is going to be interesting to see if my water account will be less this billing month,” she said. “If not, I will expect an explanation.” She added that she has long had a high water account and was previously told she would need to pay a fee for Johannesburg Water to investigate why.

Her neighbours did not escape the disruption either. The complex next door also had issues, and several of her neighbours had little to no water during the same period.
Kotzé’s message to Johannesburg Water is direct. She wants the utility to get to know its own infrastructure so that faults can be found and fixed quickly. She wants officials to respond to emails and to communicate with residents. Above all, she wants a sense of urgency.

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But her parting message is aimed at the community itself. “It is scary how we as the community just accept the service delivery that we receive,” she said. “People should stop accepting and start acting to change the way our city treats us.”

Johannesburg Water had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

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