Joburg Mom on the Brink of Bankruptcy Due to R2.9 Million Water Bill

Jenny-Lee Bot manages a rental property in Dainfern, Johannesburg, and relies on its income to support her family. In 2023, she was stunned when her utility bill spiked dramatically: water charges jumped from R1,334 due by the end of July to R454,192 owed by the end of August.

This staggering amount was attributed to a recorded consumption of nearly 6,000 kilolitres—a volume a professional plumber argues is “nearly impossible” for a residential property to use in a single month. The inflated charges have persisted for months, with Bot’s water bill now surpassing R2.9-million.

In Gauteng, the average water consumption stands at 279 litres per person per day, equating to roughly 34kl per month for a family of four.

Despite a minor repair to a small pipe connector leak conducted in February 2024, the excessive readings continued, fluctuating between 1,420kl and 5,965kl, averaging around a quarter-of-a-million rand monthly.

Eventually, the readings returned to normal without significant intervention. From June 2024 onward, consumption levels stabilized between 10kl and 35kl per month.

The City of Johannesburg has consistently claimed that the high consumption resulted from an “internal leak,” placing the financial burden directly on Bot. In a statement to GroundUp, Johannesburg Water attributed the issue to Bot as well.

Read: Gauteng community’s taps run dry as municipality battles R1.4bn water debt

However, independent investigations challenge these assertions.

“For a 1,000 square metre property, the bill reflects a volume of 5.965 million litres in one month. You would expect to see signs: swamps, sinkholes, wet walls, mud patches, and flowing water—none of which I can find. Therefore, the 12 months of high water bills are inexplicable,” stated Simon Bird from SAB Plumbing.

An engineer who consulted with Bot identified this situation as “clearly a case of either water meter malfunction, incorrect water meter readings, and/or miscalculations by the administrator of the water bill invoices.”

In May 2024, Alpha Plumbing undertook a high-pressure gas test, confirming an “absolute absence of any active leaks” on the premises.

Despite this, the City insists on a 50% upfront payment before engaging in any official dispute resolution.

Johannesburg Water informed us that the “request to adjust the account due to high consumption” had not been processed, citing “an internal leak which was the owner’s responsibility.” The company noted that there was “high consumption” on the property between 21 March 2023 and 16 April 2024, which had not been rectified by a Johannesburg Water technical team, preventing the account from being adjusted. However, this statement contradicts the expert reports and the timeline, as Bot’s bill only began escalating several months later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Confronted with a bill she cannot afford, Bot is at risk of bankruptcy.

“I lose sleep over this issue, and it is absurd that such a grave error could lead me to liquidation if I cannot find a solution,” Bot expressed to GroundUp.

Bot claims she has been shuffled from “pillar to post” over the last two years. She has made numerous visits to Johannesburg Water, held meetings with lawyers, councillors, even MPs, and contacted Johannesburg’s Ombudsman.

At one point, she even paid the City for a meter test, which she says never actually occurred.

Bot also reports corruption, stating that during her desperate search for assistance, Johannesburg Water officials told her it would be “very expensive,” but they could make the bill “disappear.”

Financial Impact

The frequent service disconnections stemming from the dispute led to her tenants terminating their lease.

This loss of income culminated in a final demand from her bank and a letter from her lawyer, ominously warning her of impending liquidation.

In 2024, Bot secured a court interdict to maintain her electricity and water supply. However, the City, which subcontracts disconnections, has reportedly failed to honor the order, and disconnections have continued, according to Bot.

Read:
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She cannot afford to invest significantly in legal counsel.

The utility provider has a history of inaccurate meter readings, especially following the 2008 Project Phakama centralization, leading to many households being billed based on arbitrary estimates for months or even years without physical readings.

“I truly feel like I’m trapped in a nightmare,” said Bot. “It’s an overwhelming amount of stress.”

© 2026 GroundUp. This article was first published here.