RESIDENTS of Orange Farm are forced to get water from a stormwater pipe as their taps have been dry for four weeks now.
This is after a contractor damaged the main pipe that supplies water while trying to install a stormwater pipe in Orange Farm extension 2.
Community leader Emmanuel Khumalo said the damaged pipe has left the community members with no choice but to get water from the dirty pipe every day. He said kids are also not going to school because of the problem.
"We have no other option but to get water from this stormwater pipe as it's the only option because the water trucks roaming in the township charge us R5 per bucket. The water isn't enough water to supply the entire community," said Khumalo.
Gogo Martha Phokojwe (72) said she is forced to push a wheelbarrow that is very heavy just to get water for herself. She said their ward councillor is not telling them when they will have water.
She said young people in the township are now selling water for R10 per bucket to the elderly people and people living with disabilities.
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Other residents said the Joburg Water roaming tankers don’t go to some areas and where they go they supply little water, whereby each family is allowed to have only one bucket of water for R5.
Joburg Water spokeswoman Nombuso Shabalala said the water outage in Orange Farm was not a crisis but rather, it was a water interruption that was due to a pipe that was accidentally damaged in multiple places by an external contractor.
Shabalala said since the interruption, Joburg Water has provided alternative water supply to customers through stationary tanks and roaming trucks.
She said Joburg Water did not condone fraud and corruption and had strict policies in place regarding bribery. "This is not only applicable to Joburg Water staff but also to its contractors and other third parties," she said.
According to Shabalala, residents were welcome to provide the entity with proof of these claims so that they could forward them to the relevant department for further investigations.
