byline: Leigh Hodgson<\/p>\n
The Germiston City News has been inundated with calls from furious Germiston residents, many of whom have been without water since Tuesday, September 1.<\/p>
\u201cNo one at the call centre can say exactly what the problem is or when it will be fixed,” said Charlene Jurkiewicz, from Albemarle.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have not one drop of water in our taps and no one can tell me when or where I can find the emergency tankers for water.<\/p>
\u201cWe are living like animals, not being able to wash or cook; this is getting ridiculous.\u201d.<\/p>\n
Leon de Beer said: \u201cIt is now becoming ridiculous; no water for extended periods of time, yet the metro is obliged to supply water to their consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis, apparently, has become a secondary issue, yet they have the audacity to cut the services to consumers who fail to pay on time for a service that is not rendered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samantha Dorman also shared her frustrations, saying: \u201cI have been without water since Tuesday, last week, and I still have no water.<\/p>\n
\u201cSad to think, as much as people complain, at the end of the day nothing will be done. The question is: why do we pay rates and taxes?\u201d<\/p>\n
Some residents have reported that the water supply returns at night, but will be gone again by morning.<\/p>\n
However, this water is often dirty and undrinkable.<\/p>\n
Martie Venter, from Elsburg, asked: \u201cHow do we know what the real problem is if they don\u2019t give us answers?<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a three-week-old baby to care for and don\u2019t know how I am meant to cope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suzanne Petrie, from Albemarle, said: \u201cWhy can they not SMS customers to tell them about the water issues, when they are able to SMS about payments that are due?\u201d<\/p>\n
After numerous emails and calls to the metro it was established that the problem is being caused by a leak at the Primrose Reservoir.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe priority at this stage is ensuring that residents have a stable water supply, hence efforts have been focused on implementing an interim solution by way of by-passing the supply from that reservoir,\u201d explained Themba Gadebe, spokesman for the metro.<\/p>\n
The metro said that all areas should have had a stable water supply by Friday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork to by-pass the reservoir was completed on Thursday and supply has been restored,\u201d said Gadebe.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll areas should have water, although the pressure is still low.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is expected to normalise by Friday morning, due to the current high demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once again residents who have no water are requested to report the complaint to the metro\u2019s call taking centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cCustomers should have water at this stage, so any outage should be reported,\u201d Gadebe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cResidents are also encouraged to report water leaks, as these will also have an impact on water supply; teams are currently attending to two leaks reported in Lambton.\u201d<\/p>\n
The metro insists that Germiston is not experiencing a water crisis similar to that of last year.<\/p>\n
Roving water tankers were and continue to be supplied to areas where it is reported that there is no water.<\/p>\n
These areas include Elsburg and Albemarle.<\/p>\n
The tankers are allegedly stationed at old age homes and schools in the areas.<\/p>\n
The DA’s Clr Chris Swanepoel, however, said that the water had not been restored to Lambton by Friday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have had calls this morning,\u201d Swanepoel told a GCN journalist on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation is unacceptable and is a serious health risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe DA MPL for Germiston, Paul Willemburg, has taken the matter to the MMC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lambton residents have thanked Swanepoel for his efforts during the water outage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Epworth Children\u2019s Village had a serious shortage of water for two days.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving 75 children resident in six houses, this could have been a disaster with backed-up toilets and no water to use for cooking or washing, but Swanepoel arranged for a water tanker to supply water on both days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe management and staff are extremely grateful to him,\u201d said Julie Blackburn, resource centre coordinator at Epworth.<\/p>\n
Pine Pienaar, vice-chairman of the Lambton Klip Sector Four CPF said: \u201cThank you to Swanepoel for his efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have three groups where community members reported all the issues they were having with the water supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was continuously giving feedback on these groups.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Friday afternoon, a Lambton resident told the GCN that the water had finally been restored.<\/p>\n
A query was sent to the metro to confirm this, but, at the time of going to press, no reply had been received.<\/p>\n
Related articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n Emergency water supply interruption affects parts of Germiston<\/a><\/p>\n Technicians continue work to restore water to Germiston<\/a><\/p>\n Germiston\u2019s water woes continue<\/a><\/p>\n Water restored in Germiston \u2013 says metro<\/a><\/p>\n Metro continues to work on water supply problem<\/a><\/p>\n Residents feel metro doesn\u2019t care about water issue<\/a><\/p>\n