By Ebi Kesiena
The community of Robertsham in the south of Johannesburg is frustrated after going several weeks without water. Residents claim that despite numerous attempts to get assistance from the municipality, their taps are still dry.
The community, which is mostly of Muslim faith, says their lives have been disrupted and that water interruptions interfere with their Holy month of Ramadan.
Naazneen Kadir, who lives in Robertsham with her family, has relied on water tankers provided by the local municipality for about a month now. She says this is not enough as they need water for special cleansing before prayer.
“Water is our basic necessity and we do so much humanitarian because of Human Rights month. What’s even more frustrating is that it is our Ramadan month and we need water. it’s a necessity for the Muslim people.”
Meanwhile, Johannesburg Water says its systems are reportedly stabilising while pumping commences at Crown Gardens reservoir.
The spokesperson for Johannesburg Water, Nombuso Shabalala says, “The Crown Gardens system has improved overnight, and pumping at the reservoir has commenced. The entity’s technical teams started pumping via the Crown Gardens reservoir and tower in the early hours of Saturday morning. High-lying areas will start receiving water with low pressure and the system will gradually fill up.”
Shabalala added that, “the Hursthill reservoir still remains critical. We have made special arrangements for residents who are living in those affected areas. We have deployed roaming water tankers and we hope that this will help the situation. Some of our systems in areas such as Brixton are in recovery mode and will improve in the next day or two.”
The City also says its infrastructure is showing steady improvement after struggling with water shortages in some parts since the beginning of the week.
