Key Johannesburg suburb without water for three weeks

Melville’s current water outage is the worst in decades, according to residents Alf and Veronique. (They asked that their surnames not be published.)

The elderly couple spoke to GroundUp on Sunday while queuing for water at a collection point. Alf, 80, and Veronique, 71, have lived in Melville for more than 30 years.

“There have been times where we haven’t had water for a week, sometimes maybe for ten days, but … we are moving into the third week of our taps being completely dry,” said Alf. 

The collection point, paid for and installed by residents, consists of three water tanks supplied by Johannesburg Water. It is manned by volunteers working on rotation, ensuring residents only collect 50 litres of water a day.

Volunteers also help older and vulnerable residents carry heavy water buckets to their cars, and arrange delivery for those unable to travel to the collection point.

Homes in the area are supplied by Johannesburg Water’s Commando System, which has been severely strained due to leaking reservoirs and the breakdown of water pumps.

In an update on Sunday night, Johannesburg Water said the Hursthill 2 reservoir, which supplies Melville, has been bypassed, and low-pressure or no supply was expected.

Resident Joseph Mabuza said he is angry and despondent.

“There is confusing communication, and it does not seem like they have a plan to fix the underlying issues. We are being charged rates and taxes but are not receiving any service from the government,” said Mabuza.

The neighbouring suburb of Brixton is also without tap water. GroundUp found students and residents making their way to a water truck with whatever plastic buckets they could find to collect water to last them the day.

Student Sharon Nkomo said that the water outages have added an extra layer of stress to academic life.

“The academic year has just started, and we should be focusing on our studies, but we are out here searching for water on a daily basis,” said Nkomo.

Water advocacy organisation WaterCAN said in a statement that the outage is fuelling tensions as residents queue for hours at water tankers, only to find the water has run out.

The organisation wants the national government to declare a national disaster in order to unlock emergency resources, enforce coordination across spheres of government, and compel transparent public communication from Johannesburg Water and Rand Water.