Renee Peters, Eastridge
I have logged several complaints with the City of Cape Town about my water meter.
Today we do not have water. Other days we have water until the morning when there is only one person at home.
The City is making use of subcontractors, and the consultants cannot even give me the details of subcontractors.
Apparently the subcontractors were here during the week.
Someone was at home, they did not knock at the door to say what the problem was nor did they contact me because they have my cellphone number.
The subcontractors just say there is water.
Why don’t they check if there is water inside the house?
And what happened to my water?
I really need help because I am sick and tired now.
When I phone the call centre then I get a new reference number and get told it will take three days.
Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for water and waste, responds:
A water management device (WMD) was recently set to limit consumption at the property as a result of the City’s indigent assistance programme.
Residents meeting indigent criteria can have their debt completely written off on one occasion and qualify for 350 litres free water every day, if they agree to the installation of a water management device at their property.
This meter will close off water supply to the property until the following day once the 350 litre allocation has been used up.
This is explained as part of the indigent registration process.
The City has inspected the meter and found no faults.
The property is receiving the full allocation every day, so either the occupants of the property are using this allocation up quickly, or there is a leak on the property which is allowing the daily allocation to run to waste before the residents can access it.
The City would therefore advise that the residents first confirm there are no leaks at the property.
Residents can check for leaks on their property either by hiring a professional plumber or by following guidelines which can be found online.
According to the Water By-law, residents are responsible for ensuring that their property’s plumbing is kept in working order.
If there are no leaks, the occupants of the property can apply for an increase to their water allocation at their nearest municipal walk-in centre.
Residents will have to show they have the means to pay for any water required over and above the indigent allocation.
