DESPITE not having a regular flow of piped water, Phoenix and Verulam residents say they are forced to pay their “exorbitant” utility bills or face disconnection.
Furthermore, they say they have the additional costs of having to purchase bottled water for drinking and refill Jojo tanks.
Sally Manoojahdass, 56, of Westham in Phoenix, said she has not had piped water in her home for the past two weeks.
“There is not a single drop of water in our taps, yet we are told to pay for the service. How is that fair?
“We used to get water for an hour or two prior to this, but now there is nothing. The municipal water tankers are scarce and by the time they reach us, they are almost empty.
“People are taking more water than usual, but it is understandable as there is the fear.
“We also depend on the private tankers provided by Ricky Naidoo of Venk-Pac. They even come out until late at night to help us.
“Some of my elderly neighbours have received bills from between R5 000 to R13000. My bill is close to R2 000 every month.
“We believe they are just estimating amounts and making us suffer,” she said.
Manoojahdass said the water outages and high bills were causing residents strain.
“We are not only physically and financially drained, but also emotionally. There are many residents who are elderly, disabled or unemployed.
“People are stressed all the time and not even able to sleep. It is heartbreaking what we are forced to go through,” she said.
Michelle Khan, 50, of Brookdale in Phoenix, said her area has not had piped water for the past week.
“Prior to this, we would get for two hours and find ourselves in a dilemma on what to do in that time. You ask yourself, should I fill up, wash the clothes, have a shower or cook.
“However, even though we used to get water in our taps for a short while, how can we be charged such high amounts – higher than we would usually get in a month if we had consistent water.
“I got a bill for over R3000 this month. How is this possible? Sadly, if we don’t pay the bill or make some arrangement, we will incur arrears and have our water supply completely closed-off. So what will we do when the water, if ever, returns? It is frustrating that residents, especially our elderly persons have to live in such conditions,” she said.
Maya Pillay, 83, of Trenance Park (old phase), in Verulam, said her area had been without water since Friday.
However, some parts of Verulam have not had consistent piped water since last year. “We are really suffering, and no one seems to care about us. I live alone, just like many of my neighbours, some who are in their 90s. Yet, we have to still go fill up our bottles when the tankers come. But, we can only fill one or two bottles. It is too heavy for us to carry from the tanker to our homes. It is also very hard as I have to buy drinking water at least every two days,” she said.
Vassie Govender, an executive member of the Voice of Phoenix (VOP) said the ongoing water outages in the area was causing “frustration" among the residents.
“Over the past two weeks the water situation has worsened. Previously, only some areas would experience an outage, but now, every area seems to be struggling.
“In addition to this, residents have approached the VOP, asking for assistance as they are receiving exorbitant utility bills – with their water being higher than electricity. They are not sure what to do as it is a joint utility bill, which includes their electricity, water and rates.
“They say, if they don’t pay, both their water and electricity will be disconnected. How is that fair? It has come to a point where residents are ready to take to the streets, and refuse to pay their utility bills until water is restored in their homes.
“We will also call for all the estimated water bills to be written-off and that the eThekwini Municipality start afresh. If not, we will continue to speak out against those denying us our basic right to water,” he said.
Roshan Lil-Ruthan, spokesperson for the Verulam Water Crisis Committee (VWCC), said they have written to KZN Premier, Thami Ntuli, to participate in an imbizo in Verulam, as a “matter of urgency”.
“The residents of Verulam and surrounding suburbs have been facing severe challenges with the collapse of service delivery, particularly regular water stoppages.
“Our communities are beyond breaking point; an intervention is both crucial and an emergency.
“The situation has become untenable for our community, with some residents taking to the streets in protest to demand immediate attention from the authorities.
“Despite our repeated pleas, our pleas for assistance have been ignored, leaving our community in a state of distress. The residents of Verulam are now looking to our new premier for leadership and support, and we fervently hope that he will heed our call for assistance,” he said.
Gugu Sisilana, the eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, said the ongoing water outage and intermittent supply affecting areas in the northern area, was due to the city being supplied with reduced volumes of water by uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) through the Durban Heights Treatment Works.
She said according to the UUW, the reduction in the volumes of water was due to filters being clogged by large volumes of algae.
“As of Sunday, only one bulk pipeline is open to convey water from the Durban Heights Treatment Works to the city’s reservoirs. This has resulted in a much lower rate of water going into our system, which is already depleted.”
Sisilana said residents in the city are urged to reduce consumption as the demand in the northern areas was excessive.
“Water levels have dropped to concerning levels, and it is crucial that we all work together to reduce our consumption.”