Joburg Water leaves Randburg dry and confused
'Advance notice of water outages remains the exception, not the rule,' said Bodenstein. 'The majority of bursts and infrastructure failures are only reported after the fact, if at all.'
The north-western suburbs of Johannesburg are battling ageing water infrastructure and regular pipe bursts. According to Bodenstein, the situation is worsened by the city's failure to provide consistent updates or direct communication with ward councillors.
'There's no reliable system for early warnings, outage maps, or estimated repair times,' he said. 'Residents are left relying on Facebook groups and word-of-mouth to find out what's going on.'
Also read: Water continues to spray out of the pipe on Nerina Street
He said that although Joburg Water has increased social media posts in recent months, many updates are delayed or incomplete. 'I work well with some officials, but it's frustrating when there's no information on the dozens of daily bursts.'
Bodenstein said the lack of information undermines public trust. 'It severely hampers my ability to serve the ward. I can't tell people what's happening or when water will return. I also can't advise where to find relief measures like tankers.'
As a possible solution, the Democratic Alliance in Johannesburg is testing an automated outage reporting and escalation system in Ward 72. Bodenstein hopes it will be available in all wards by the end of the year.
He believes Joburg Water needs to overhaul its communication approach for Randburg residents. 'We need real-time alerts via SMS or WhatsApp, interactive outage maps, and clear timelines for repairs. Water is a basic right residents deserve honest, timely updates.'
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