Residents of Melville and Westdene took to the streets on Wednesday morning at Main Road and 4th Avenue, protesting against water outages they say have left some households without supply for 23 days.
Frustration boiled over as community members demanded urgent intervention and clearer communication from Johannesburg Water and the City of Johannesburg.
Melville resident Josephine Kloeckner said for more than two weeks it felt as though their crisis was being ignored.
“For 15 days it’s like our water issues didn’t exist. No-one was helping, and there was no proper communication,” she said. “The only communication we got from Joburg Water was that we need to use less water.”
Residents say the use of water tankers has done little to ease their daily struggles. James Smith, who lives in Westdene, said the system is unreliable and poorly managed.
“With water tankers it’s even worse because they don’t give proper communication about when they will come. Some days they come with limited water that doesn’t supply everyone,” said Smith.
“Some tankers sometimes want to sell the water because they know people are desperate and will buy.”
The effects have stretched beyond household inconvenience. One Melville father, John Brown, said his children have been unable to attend school.
“My children cannot go to school because we cannot prepare them. Schools are open and operating, but they are missing out because of this issue,” he said.
For others, the crisis has serious health implications. Sarah Taylor said her son is on medication and requires clean, reliable water.
“My son takes medication and I cannot afford to make him drink water from the tanker. I need to buy water and make sure it is always available at home for his medication,” she said.
Ward 87 councillor Kyle Jacobs said residents have been stretched beyond endurance.
“The water crisis is unacceptable and unbearable. Some residents have been without water for 23 days. It has reached a crisis point. We cannot continue like this; people have been driven to protest because their constitutional rights are being affected.”
TimesLIVE
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