Some communities in west of Joburg still contending with dry taps

JOHANNESBURG - Some communities in the west of Johannesburg are still contending with dry taps as Johannesburg Water works to fix their aged command system.

A number of Coronationville residents who were protesting on Monday said they have not had any water for the past four weeks.

ALSO READ: Protesting Coronationville residents claim nearby informal settlement has constant water supply but they have dry taps

The utility said that the infrastructural issues with the command system, which supplies Westbury, Sophiatown, Coronationville, and the surrounding areas, is the cause of the years of the staggered supply.

Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said the budget constraints have led to the water challenges faced by these communities.

“We are struggling with aged infrastructure, which does need capital investment, which has not been provided over the years. Hence, we are where we are. So, what we are doing now is working in a backlog, so to speak. So, we are fixing and addressing infrastructure, which was supposed to have been done a couple of years ago. So, we are on the back foot.”