“The main problem is the toilet. When there is no water to flush, the house starts to stink and then it is germs.”
This is according to Abdul Bhudu from Lenasia South in Johannesburg South, who says limited access to water has created unnecessary sickness in the area.
As a resident who lives in a high-level lying area, he had to adapt to new ways of surviving the water crisis.
The father of four said he has children in the house and infections spread quickly from one toilet. “A kid will use the toilet when there is no water, how is she going to flush?” he asked.
He added that the next would have to use the germ-infested toilet. Bhudu and his family adapted to new ways of living, storing water in buckets because he didn’t know when the water would go off. He said Johannesburg Water doesn’t adequately communicate if they will not have water.
According to him, water has become a rare commodity which only the rich people, who have bought tanks in their homes, can afford. “We end up using the same water we fill up in the buckets to flush the toilets, and you end up without water for cooking and bathing,” he said.
Another resident, Aneesa Pillay, said they don’t receive any warning that there will be no water and sometimes when they are warned about issues, water will be available.
Her tap allows her to hear the tap pressure when the water is about to come back, she says.
However, at times, it would be just the pressure which lasts for about two hours with no water coming out. “Our pressure is running but there is no water and when we get the bill the cost is even more,” she said.
She added that she has to keep the taps open during the evening as sometimes they do get water at about 2am, but recently the crisis has become worse. “They just switch off. If they gave us the time that water is going to be off, we would prepare.
“Now you don’t know and every day you must just expect what could happen,” she said.
There is no life here ... this reservoir has been standing there for a year and is not even functional. I don’t appreciate paying for water and we don’t get water. In what age are we living?
— Lenasia South resident Santosh Naran
For Santosh Naran, who has been living in the area since 1987, the problem escalated with the mushrooming of informal settlements, and over the past 10 years it has become worse.
He said Lenasia used to be one of the elite suburbs in Johannesburg South with lawyers, doctors and engineers living there. He said a second reservoir was commissioned in 2015 and opened in 2022. “We only had running water on our taps for three days and it was back to dry taps, where we only get water for limited hours of a day,” he said.
The problem, according to him, has persisted for about seven years and does not look like being solved. He said the new reservoir was built to help with the water shortage.
“There is no life here ... this reservoir has been standing there for a year and is not even functional. I don’t appreciate paying for water and we don’t get water. In what age are we living?” he asked.
He said at times when the water comes back, it is brown and they have to filter or boil it and let it cool before they use it. He said the water goes off at about 12pm, comes back around 6pm and goes off again at about 8pm.
“Some other days we spend the whole night without water. We have to use the toilet when there is water. We can’t shower, cook or do anything, we just have to wait for the water to come back.”
“Imagine all those ladies who work and when they arrive home late, there is no water, they can’t shower and are tired. How are they going to cook?” he asked.
He said many people have left the area as they couldn’t live in a suburb that has a water crisis every day. “Every day for the last seven years we are sitting here with a crisis, people are leaving because they don’t want to experience this type of situation daily."
He said residents from the neighbouring informal settlement were allegedly illegally connecting to the city’s infrastructure to get water to their homes. “If you drive around here you find mansions that the owners have abandoned because they cannot handle this situation any longer.”
Former City of Johannesburg environment and infrastructure services (EIS) MMC and the DA’s PR councillor for ward 120 which covers part of Lenasia, Michael Sun, launched a petition to assist residents in the area.
“The issue is historic and worsened by illegal tapping into the main supply pipes, this depletes the water that is provisioned for the paying residents in the area. JW also indicated that there are many leaks in the area on the municipal and private pipes,” he said.
Councillor Imraan Moosa, chairperson of the EIS, of which Joburg Water is one of the entities, pleaded with the residents to understand the water supply issue.
“Water is extracted from dams by Rand Water, which supplies Joburg Water. The infrastructure in some places many years ago was surely not created for today’s supply and demand. Presently the demand has increased due to many reasons, like the tremendous increase of informal settlements and people that use water without paying for it.
“The issue is worsened by the recent power trips on Rand Water’s side, which impacts supply to Joburg Water. The high-level lying areas have become a challenge to supply sufficient water,” he said.
He added that the city is trying its best under extreme circumstances to provide water.
“New reservoirs are on the cards to roll out over the next few years. In the meantime water tankers and JoJo tankers are provided for the few areas not having water,” he said.
Joburg Water is yet to respond to TimesLIVE Premium questions about the dire water situation in Lenasia South.
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