Furious residents of Westbury say weeks without water have been a living hell, forcing them to run about their neighbourhoods with buckets, chasing water tankers.
Others said the outage has hit them hard in the pocket as they have to buy bottled water, while struggling to flush their toilets and keep their homes clean.
On Thursday their frustrations spiralled into the streets as they continued where they left off on Wednesday, barricading roads with rocks and burning tyres,, leading to clashes with police who fired rubber bullets and teargas.
Behind the protests is a community battling for survival. For weeks, taps have been dry, forcing families to find creative and often desperate ways to cope.
Peter Louw, a father in the area, said: “It is really unbearable living without water because basically everything needs water. I feel dirty because I cannot bath properly.
“I fetch water at the nearby garage but only in small quantities because sometimes we are many and they do not always agree. I have a child in primary school and I sometimes do not take her to school because I fear she may faint.”
For Kelsey Neelsen, the shortage has stripped her home of cleanliness and comfort.
“I cannot even mop my house because we need to use water wisely. My home is dirty and even the toilet is not hygienic.
“I sometimes buy water at the supermarket just for drinking because we cannot survive without it. I even wake up at night to check if the water is back so that when it does come back I can fill some buckets,” she said.
Willem Botha said the situation has left him humiliated and financially strained.
“I go to the Slovo informal settlement to fetch water and some households make us pay to fill our buckets”
“There was a time I could not even go to work because there wasn’t a drop of water and I could not bath or prepare myself. As for the toilet, it’s really bad and the house is now starting to stink,” he said.
In a statement on Thursday, the government noted the protests in Westbury and Coronationville where residents have raised frustrations over long-standing water supply challenges. It acknowledged the seriousness of the concerns and said it was working on long-term, sustainable solutions to ensure reliable water supply to the affected communities.
William Baloyi, deputy government spokesperson, said: “The City of Johannesburg, through Joburg Water has announced medium-to-long-term measures aimed at sustainably addressing the water challenges. These include work to mitigate the strain caused by low water levels in reservoirs, and efforts to complete and commission the new Brixton reservoir and tower by the end of October.”
Joburg Water is also working on stabilising the system by managing demand to improve reservoir levels.
The government has directed Johannesburg to implement immediate interim measures. Communities have been urged to allow these measures to be carried out without disrupting workers, as any interference could delay progress.
“Government respects the right of communities to raise their grievances through protests as enshrined in section 17 of the constitution,” said Baloyi. “However, residents have the responsibility to exercise this right peacefully and without damage to property. The destruction of infrastructure and acts of violence only delay the very solutions that communities are demanding.”
TimesLIVE
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