Brink says illegal connections leaving Mamelodi taps dry
Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink says residents will continue to struggle with erratic water supply unless the city reduces the number of illegal connections.
Brink spoke during an unannounced inspection of the city's water infrastructure in Mamelodi on Monday.
The inspection came as several areas continued to struggle with water supply.
Read: Some areas in Mamelodi without water
"It’s almost as if people accept that illegal connections are there. But we have to link illegal connections to the results of illegal connections, and that is dry taps even for paying consumers, and that has to stop.”
Brink urged residents to use water sparingly as they work on filling all the reservoirs following repair work conducted on a burst pipe.
The repairs affected the Mamelodi R3 and R4 reservoirs.
"There is a massive burst at the Rand Water pipe that also affected us because that feeds into our network. There was a secondary burst on our network that had to be resolved, so that also affected our water levels.
"Reservoir 3 from Mamelodi has recovered from 3% to 24%, but if we do not address the fundamental issue, then next month we'll still face the same issue.”
Im in Mamelodi addressing water supply challenges. The main issue is illegal connections into our water systems by informal settlements. The informal settlements are a result of land grabs. We working on re-fencing and removing all informal dwellings by the reservoirs. pic.twitter.com/60yf11mhEs
— Mayor Cilliers Brink (@tshwane_mayor) January 29, 2024
