City Accuses Waterfall Estate of R10 Million Water Theft — Owners Fight Back

The Johannesburg High Court has reserved judgment in a legal battle between the City of Johannesburg and the owners of the upscale Waterfall Country Estate, who are challenging millions in fines for illegal water connections.

The case was brought by Waterfall Country Estate, Waterfall Schools, and Waterfall Fields — all part of the elite Waterfall City development, where homes can cost up to R30 million. The estate’s owners argue that although they do not dispute the unauthorized water connections, the fines issued by the city and Johannesburg Water are unlawful and improperly calculated.

Luxury estates accused of bypassing city infrastructure

The City of Johannesburg claims that the Waterfall developments connected to the municipal water system without approval, costing the city millions of rands in lost revenue. The accusations stem from a 2018 investigation by Johannesburg Water, which found that the developers had used private contractors to install water meters without official authorisation.

According to court submissions, The Sheds — owned by Waterfall Country Estate — had 72 units with unauthorized connections. Waterfall Schools allegedly began building a school without an approved water meter, and Waterfall Fields was accused of illegally connecting The Polofields and Kikuyu developments.

The city imposed heavy fines: R1 million on Waterfall Country Estate, R2 million on Waterfall Schools, and over R7 million on Waterfall Fields. However, the estate’s legal team claims the tariffs used to calculate these penalties were incorrect and the process unlawful.

Estate’s legal team says case should never have gone to court

Arguing in court this week, advocate Johan Uys SC told Judge Stuart Wilson that the city had no legal authority to issue the fines in their current form. He requested the court to declare them invalid, order the municipality to adjust the accounts within 30 days, and prevent Johannesburg Water from taking further action on the disputed amounts.

“This matter should never have come to court,” said Uys. “The disputes could have been resolved administratively, without legal intervention.”

City defends its right to penalise unauthorised connections

Advocate Vuyo Qithi, representing the City of Johannesburg, defended the penalties, saying they were imposed because the estates bypassed the city’s infrastructure and connected directly to the bulk water system without permission.

He confirmed that the city uncovered the illegal connections during a 2018 probe and said the applicants had repeatedly ignored city protocols.

Judgment still pending after city’s postponement bid dismissed

Judge Wilson reserved judgment and dismissed the city’s last-minute attempt to postpone the case due to alleged “new additional facts,” which the municipality declined to elaborate on.

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Sourced:Sunday World

Picture: Waterfall City