Joburg residents are contending with water outages. Water tankers were dispatched to feed severely affected areas.

“If it’s not flies, it’s a stench coming from our homes.”

These were the words of Ahmed Ahmed, 65, as he fetched water from a tanker outside the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital.

Arriving in his blue Toyota sedan, Ahmed unloaded four empty buckets, which he quickly filled with water.

The water truck was parked outside the hospital’s back gate.

Ahmed complained that flies had invaded his and his neighbours’ homes.

“For the past few months, we have seen an increasing number of flies invading our homes. Many of our properties are stinking due to the smell coming from our toilets. We are oppressed in a democratic country.

“Water is life. Without water, we are in trouble. My wife, two children and granddaughter survive on the little water we fetch daily. I spent money on petrol to drive around, looking for water trucks,” Ahmed said.

“If it is not water shortages, it is (electricity) load shedding. We use electricity to boil the water we drink. Where is this country going? How long must we suffer until we enjoy the fruits of our votes?” Ahmed asked.

“We each use a maximum of four litres to bath. We also save that water to flush our toilet. Our home is smelling. We no longer relieve ourselves whenever nature calls.

“Our biggest fear hits when it is time to visit the toilet… we first check if there is water. If there isn’t water, we plan to collect it before sitting on a toilet seat,” he added.

Ahmed said there was water in their taps late at night.

“That water comes out very slowly because the demand is high. You can’t even fill a 20 litre bucket with that water at night. We don’t know why we don’t have water.

“All I know is that I have a government that should look after its citizens. However, our government is not doing so. We need urgent help,” Ahmed said.

Some affected residents rely on nearby mosques for water.

Ahmed said that, should the water shortages escalate, areas supplied by the Hursthill reservoir would be forced to live under unhygienic conditions.

A few streets from the hospital, Kervin Roysten carried a black 20 litre bucket, filled with water, which he had collected from a nearby old age home.

“I was lucky today. I didn’t travel a distance as usual. I saw the truck going to the old age home and quickly ran to it. Truck drivers are generous. They understand our plight. They were patient and allowed us to collect water.

“The only time we see water in our taps is around 02:00. Water trucks don’t drive down every street. They select spots where they stop for people to collect. We walk distances carrying buckets,” Roysten said.

Meanwhile, Joburg Water said the Commando System levels had worsened – from critically low to empty.

#JoburgUpdates :Water Restrictions pic.twitter.com/BmUSBRKDzS

— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) October 17, 2022

However, the entity claimed that Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa hospitals had adequate supplies.

The affected areas include Montgomery Park, Westbury, Greymont, Coronationville, Newlands, Northcliff, Newclare, Auckland Park, Albertville, Melville, Richmond, Parkview, Emmarentia and Greenside.

News24