JOHANNESBURG - Residents of Bezuidenhout Valley are calling on Johannesburg Water to urgently deploy water tankers as the community enters its fourth day without water amid concerns about possible contamination.
The water utility issued an advisory on Thursday warning residents of possible contamination following repairs to a severely damaged water pipe.
The pipe was damaged when a tree fell on it during sewer excavation work.
Residents say the prolonged outage has disrupted their daily lives, leaving families struggling with basic needs such as cooking, bathing and preparing children for school.
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“This issue is really troubling us because we have close to four days without water. It’s tough because you can’t bathe and you can’t cook. There are also kids who need to go to school, so it’s very tough,” one resident said.
The resident said concerns remained about whether the water would be safe to use once the supply was restored.
“People are forced to go and buy water, and some people are unemployed. Without water, you can’t survive, so this truly affects us,” the resident added.
Ward 66 councillor Carlos da Rocha has accused Johannesburg Water of failing to respond adequately to the crisis, saying his repeated requests for emergency water tankers have gone unanswered.
Da Rocha said he had been requesting emergency water supplies for three days and claimed the utility was unaware of the possible contamination until he raised the alarm.
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He said he issued a red alert on Wednesday morning, advising residents who still had water not to use it because the supply could be contaminated once repairs were completed.
Several streets between 4th and 10th streets have been affected, leaving a large section of the community without water.
Da Rocha said he had also raised the need for water tankers at a meeting with Johannesburg Water but had yet to receive feedback.
He said this was the third contamination-related incident affecting the same block from different sources. He criticised what he described as poor communication and a lack of urgency from the utility.
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