Nomzamo in Uproar as Brown Water, Sewage and Billing Woes Continue

Residents of Nomzamo in ward 15 are up in arms over the dire state of their water supply in their area.

According to community leader Xola Njokweni, for years, some areas have been without water, forcing residents to resort to using wheelbarrows to fetch water.

The community has been vocal about their grievances, even going so far as to write a petition to Chris Hani District Municipality last year demanding answers.

On Thursday, Chris Hani District Municipality councillors led by council speaker Jongumzi Cengani had a meeting with residents.

Njolweni said the water problems in Nomzamo are multifaceted.

“Residents have been receiving hefty water bills despite not having access to clean water. The municipality’s billing system is inaccurate, with some residents receiving bills for water they never received,” said Njokweni.

He said the introduction of smart water meters has been met with skepticism, with many residents fearing they will be ripped off.

“We are demanding a permanent solution to the water woes. We want the municipality to fix the pipes, upgrade the treatment works, and ensure that everyone has access to clean water,” said Njokweni.

Njokweni said the residents are demanding a write-off of all historical debt and a fresh start.

“We are not against smart meters, but we will not accept them until our water problems are solved,” said Njokweni.

He said the residents want to be sure that the water quality is safe for them to drink as sometimes water comes out brown.

“Our metres were last checked 20 years ago and we are not happy with the introduction of smart metres. We say the municipality must first fix the water problems before installing the water metres,” he said.

He said they are tired of being guinea pigs, every time the municipality wants to introduce a new project.

Another resident Buzani Gcinisa said water is dirty and they have a problem of overflowing sewage in Nomzamo.

Engineering head Bongeka Nobuntu said the issue in Nomzamo need her and her teambto go to the areas.

“Our pipes are old and as Chris Hani we don’t have money to change each and every pipe. We have put this in our plans but we will continue changing pipes when we have a budget,” she said.

She blamed illegal connections and a building of walls on top of water pipes as some of the challenges that affect water provision in Nomzamo.

“The capacity of the treatment works is not enough for the households. Hence we introduced water rationing. We need to upgrade the treatment works,” she said.

Nobuntu asked for people to register as indigents so that they can get subsidy.

She said vandalism at the pump stations is rife.

“They steal copper and sell it to scrap metal dealers which we know. When they steal the copper, sewage will overflow,” she said.

CHDM employee Gcobisa Matakane explained that water is cleaned at the treatment plant and pumped to reservoirs.

“When water comes back it comes out with the sand at the pipes. People need to first allow the water to come out first then start filling up their buckets,” she said.

She said there are many reasons that may lead to water being dirty.

“When you notice dirty water you need to report it immediately so that we can come and do tests,” she said.

Councillor Sinomtha Lali-Madubedube said people have not been getting account statements.

“The issue of metres readers, audit and verification of metres helped us identify that there are metres that are buried under ground, some don’t work.

We say smart metre is a solution as you are going to be charged per usage,” she said.

She said smart metres will limit water leakages.

“We cannot write-off debt as it will be an audit query,” he said.

Cengani said people of Nomzamo need to register as indigents.

“If you don’t register you will not benefit for their subsidy,” he said.