Water with a foul smell running through the area near the Princess informal settlement on Albertina Sisulu Road has been a problem since December last year.
The cause was a leaking sewerage drain that appeared to have been blocked by bricks in an attempt to plug the leak.
René Benjamin, ward councillor for this area, was asked on 17 January whether she was aware of this problem. “I do not have any knowledge of this issue, and had no communication from anyone in that area – neither from residents nor business owners. I will contact Johannesburg Water (JW) and if there is already a reference number I will escalate it,” she said.
After communicating with the JW call centre to find out whether the matter had been reported, Benajmin said, “According to the call centre agents at JW, nobody reported it. I logged it, received a reference number and they assured me it will be fixed either today (17 January) or tomorrow (18 January).”
On 18 January JW employees were at the site, already busy addressing the issue.
Benjamin could not believe that this problem was left unattended for so long, merely because residents did not use the reporting tools available to them. “Anyone can report a burst pipe or sewage leak, you do not have to be the property owner. If a matter is reported and you have a reference number, it is very easy for the councillors to find out what has been done regarding your query and if need be, escalate it,” she said.
Carl Mann, councillor for Ward 85, which includes a part of the informal settlement, totally agreed. “We have a look-and-log system, and anyone can use it. If you see a problem, don’t wait for someone else to report it. We can only address an issue if we know about it,” he said.
The aim of the look-and-log system is to encourage residents to take charge of their suburbs by logging issues requiring attention. The following procedure for water-related issues should be followed:
The first option to log a query should be contacting JW on 011 688 1699, sending an sms to 082 653 2143 or sending an email to customerservice@jwater.co.za. The second option is to phone the City of Johannesburg call centre on 0860 JOBURG (568274).
Residents will receive a reference number, which should be kept in a safe place. Should the issue not be resolved after following these steps, the ward councillor can be contacted to assist with escalating the matter.
The turnaround time for attending to reported matters differs, depending on the type of problem. For a burst pipe it is 12 hours, for sewer leak/ blockage it is 24 hours, for no water it is one day, for a leaking meter it is seven days, for a fire hydrant leak it is two days and for removing bees from a meter box it is three days.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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