Water repairs for Soweto

LEAKS will be repaired and illegal connections will be undone in Soweto, with an amnesty offered for by-passing or vandalising water meters.Read More
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Leaks will be repaired and illegal connections will be undone in Soweto, with an amnesty offered for by-passing or vandalising water meters.
JOBURG Water will return to Soweto, where it will check on illegal water connections and leaks as part of a follow-up programme to Operation Gcin’amanzi.

Joburg Water is cheking for damaged metresJoburg Water is cheking for damaged metersThe infrastructure upgrade programme will include upgrading prepaid water meters to include automated meter reading (AMR). In addition, leaking water mains and yard connections will be fixed.

Operation Gcin’amanzi is an R880-million project to upgrade Soweto’s water infrastructure launched in 2003. Under the project, the City rolled out a metered supply system to all stands in Soweto, through which residents receive a measure of free water.

In its latest visits, Joburg Water will give an “amnesty” to all customers who have illegally connected water, by-passed or vandalised meters. “This means Johannesburg Water will fix the leaks and replace all the vandalised meters at no cost to customers,” explains Baldwin Matsimela, the utility’s marketing and communications manager.

Once the leaks have been fixed and damaged meters upgraded or new ones installed, however, it will enforce by-laws to repeat offenders that could lead to prosecution, he adds. “All customers who have tampered with the pipe network of water supply through the meter will be affected by the by-law enforcement.”

Offenders will receive notices to rectify the by-pass and report to any of the City’s People Centres within seven days of receiving the notice. Lawbreakers whose metres are still in working condition will be charged a fee of R1 515,31; those whose water metres are damaged will be charged R3 053,67.

Matsimela says Joburg Water will then reinstate and repair the by-pass, but not before the customer produces proof of payment. Those who fail to show up within the seven days after receiving a notice, will have their water disconnected. It will cost R3 053,67 to restore their water, which will have to be paid before the supply is reconnected.

“Repeated illegal connections will result in the prosecution of the offender by the Johannesburg metro police department in collaboration with Johannesburg Water,” says Matsimela.