A week without water prompts Johannesburg protest
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Daily Maverick
Residents of Kensington, Johannesburg, protested on 29 October after a week without water, while burst pipes continued to pour water into the streets. The disruption is linked to the degraded operation of the Alexander Park reservoir and postponed repair work, according to the Daily Maverick.
Residents of Kensington, in eastern Johannesburg, protested on Thursday 29 October after a week without water, including at the intersection of Queen Street and Albertina Sisulu Road, the Daily Maverick reports. Neil Holland, 66, who has run a hair salon in the area for seven years, said the outages had caused his income to fall and forced him to turn away customers.
The shortages are linked to the Alexander Park reservoir, which supplies 12 neighbourhoods, including Kensington, Bez Valley and Malvern. The facility has been operating on bypass for several months, with repairs postponed despite funds allocated for its maintenance. This arrangement deprives the network of its pressure reserve when Rand Water reduces bulk supplies, explains independent water and sanitation expert Richard Holden, cited by the Daily Maverick.
Residents also denounce leaks of drinking water running into the streets while their taps remain dry. Wilhelmina Martin, 53, a resident of Dawnville who has multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis, describes the additional difficulties caused by the lack of water, according to the Daily Maverick.
The protest follows mobilisations reported since 26 October in several Johannesburg neighbourhoods. Johannesburg residents deprived of water for a week had already denounced the length of the outages, while Johannesburg Water denied the following day that there was widespread contamination.
