Resident receives R50 000 shock

Shackleton said in early May last year, a Johannesburg Water team began digging a trench on Brooke Avenue. He was told they were fixing an old water pipe which ran passed his house. He added that water had been flowing, presumably from a leakage caused by the construction, creating potholes which were eventually fixed by the Johannesburg Roads Agency. He soon found out that the leak came from a damaged pipe next to his water meter, which he asked to be repaired.

He added, “I spoke to the supervisor of the work team on several occasions about the leak and asked as to when it would be repaired but never got any answer or commitment in this regard.”

Shackleton said he had left the country in August, and while he was away the water meter had been replaced.

“When I returned to South Africa at the end of October I noted that the trench had been filled in and a new concrete housing had been erected around my water meter and a new cover placed on top of this. I also noted that the grass around my water meter was very green and growing profusely whereas the grass elsewhere was sparse and dry. This made me suspect that the leak had not been properly repaired by the workmen when they refilled the trench,” said Shackleton.

He then received a backdated bill for over R50 000 for the month of November last year. After numerous correspondences with Johannesburg Water which led to no change, he received a pre-termination notice on 9 January which threatened to shut off his water if the bill was not paid.

Johannesburg Water spokesperson Puleng Molepi confirmed with the Sandton Chronicle that the water meter, which was reported damaged on their system on 22 August last year, and replaced. This was logged on their system on 18 December but has not been loaded onto their system.

She added, “The new metre needs to be loaded on the system and the billing department needs to make necessary adjustment on this account urgently.”

This is a developing story and updates will follow.