Blairgowrie residents furious after Joburg Water skips critical crisis meeting
Ward 99 councillor Hendrik Bodenstein demands written answers after municipal officials fail to attend a public gathering over ongoing Linden reservoir outages.
Frustrated residents were left without answers after Joburg Water officials failed to attend a public meeting called by Ward 99 Councillor Hendrik Bodenstein.
The gathering at the Blairgowrie Recreation Centre was meant to address ongoing issues with the Linden 1 and 2 reservoirs and Linden Tower, including prolonged water outages, poor pressure, emergency relief and communication.
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The absence of the officials raised questions about the utility’s commitment to engaging with residents on issues that directly affect their daily lives.
Bodenstein said he was angry and deeply disappointed.
“Residents showed up. Joburg Water did not,” he said. “I organised this meeting because people are tired of dry taps, low reservoirs and zero communication. If residents can make the effort to show up, the officials paid to serve them can show up too. Their absence was disrespectful to every resident in that room.”
Councillor demands written answers
He said he will formally submit the residents’ questions to demand written answers.
“I will escalate this through every available channel until we get a proper response,” Bodenstein said. “Joburg Water may have skipped the meeting, but they will not skip the questions.”
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Some residents expressed frustration that, despite making time to attend the meeting, they couldn’t get answers to their concerns.
Resident Pierre van Wyk, who attended, said he expected answers and meaningful engagement from the utility, particularly as shortages continue to affect households.
“I was hoping for more clarity on the challenges that we are facing,” he said. “I was extremely angry that we had all made the effort in our busy days to attend this meeting and they didn’t even have the decency to show up, let alone send any form of apology.”
Municipal response pending
Questions were sent to the Joburg Water communications team on September 11. Nolwazi Dhlamini acknowledged receipt and said they were still awaiting confirmation from the relevant officials, promising a response by the morning of September 14.
Their response will be published once made available.
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