{"id":214338,"date":"2019-08-13T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/germistoncitynews.co.za\/214338\/germiston-residents-battle-through-a-week-without-water\/"},"modified":"2019-08-13T10:04:54","modified_gmt":"2019-08-13T08:04:54","slug":"germiston-residents-battle-through-a-week-without-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/germiston-city-news\/news-headlines\/2019\/08\/13\/germiston-residents-battle-through-a-week-without-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Round-up: Germiston residents battle through a week without water"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt has been a long and smelly week.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are the words of Ward 36 councillor Wendy Morgan following several days without water.<\/p>

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The water outage, which began on Saturday according to Morgan, was caused by a burst Rand Water supply pipe.<\/p>\n

Sunnyridge, Sunnyrock, Solheim, Fishers\u2019 Hill, Dawnview, Symhurst, Wanneburg, Gerdview, Homestead, Rustivia, Elandsfotein, Klopper Park and parts of Primrose were just some of the areas affected by the outage, which was widespread across Ekurhuleni.<\/p>

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Several of the affected areas still did not have water on Thursday.<\/p>\n

RELATED ARTICLE:\u00a0Burst Rand Water supply line leaves several Germiston suburbs dry<\/a><\/h4>\n

Rand Water technicians worked around the clock to repair the supply line and last Monday released a statement announcing the repairs had been completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the course of last Sunday night, we were able to repair all the damaged portions of the pipeline,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 5.30am last Monday morning, we began recommissioning the pipeline.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are continuing to monitor the system and its recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rand Water expected that water would be fully restored in all areas last Monday night.<\/p>\n

This, however, was not the case as local reservoirs had to fill before water could be restored to all affected areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are receiving a steady supply of water from Rand Water,\u201d said spokesperson for the metro Themba Gadebe last Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, reservoirs in Germiston, Primrose, Kempton Park, Bonaero Park and Alberton are still in the process of being filled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are unable to pump from Windsor Street or Dawnview as the required level has not been reached.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Anelize and Juante Lubbe sit and wait for a roving water tanker to arrive at Sunnyridge Circle, last Monday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Thursday several suburbs were still without water as the reservoirs continued to be filled.<\/p>\n

Several residents shared their frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a resident of Sunnyridge for several years now, I feel that whomever is in charge of our water and electricity is definitely not doing their job properly,\u201d said Janine Parkes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing without water in this area has happened one too many times.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunnyridge is always the first off and the last on when it comes to water or electricity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time we were told the water was only meant to be off for the weekend, but it continued into the rest of the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day there is another reason for it not being back on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see poor and elderly people struggling to get water and carrying it up to their flats and houses in heavy containers. How is this acceptable?<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone needs to take responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Sunnyridge resident, Manus Lombard, said, \u201cThis is becoming a health hazard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been without water since last Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the water outage, Morgan advised that roving water tankers would be available at the Sunnyridge Circle.<\/p>\n

However, she did warn that due to the small number of tankers available they would have to go and refill regularly.<\/p>\n

She further advised that the tankers would first visit local care facilities, old age homes and even Bertha Gxowa Hospital (which also had no water).<\/p>\n

This meant that many residents were left frustrated as they were waiting hours for water.<\/p>\n

RELATED ARTICLE:\u00a0Rand Water estimates water will be restored tomorrow afternoon<\/a><\/h4>\n

Not everyone was left despondent though, Diana Kent from Kruinhof Retirement Village thanked the metro for their help during the outage.<\/p>\n

\u201cA thank you goes to the metro personnel who brought water to our village in Elandsfontein from last Saturday to last Monday and helped us carry buckets of water to our cottages.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were very polite and respectful.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also thanked other community members who assisted during the outage.<\/p>\n

In an update on Friday, Morgan confirmed that the water had been restored to all affected suburbs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe metro and Rand Water met and have committed to maintaining a stable water flow and urged residents to use water sparingly, \u201d said Morgan.<\/p>\n

The GCN sent a query to the metro for clarity on the meeting with Rand Water, but at the time of going to print no comment had been received.<\/p>\n

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Benhur Mwaamba was among the residents waiting for water at the Sunnyridge Circle last Monday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Residents share their thoughts on the GCN Facebook page:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kabawo Samisto:<\/strong> \u201cThere is a lot of water wasted on the streets of Primrose, while some of us don\u2019t have water in our taps. This is rubbish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anna Sawyer:<\/strong> \u201cInstead of using the money for parties, the money should be used for regular maintenance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sharon Rodda:<\/strong> \u201cWater outages are nothing unusual, it\u2019s every weekend and it\u2019s like we just have to live with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Megan Pelser:<\/strong> \u201cThis is almost every weekend. If it\u2019s not the water then there is no electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hav<\/strong>e a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)\u00a0<\/span>germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)\u00a0<\/span>leighh@caxton.co.za<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist)\u00a0kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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