Water outages continue in Gauteng due to maintenance
It is unclear when water will return to the thousands of households across Gauteng affected by Rand Water's 107-hour planned maintenance.
Parts of the City of Tshwane, City of Ekurhuleni, Midvaal Local Municipality, Emfuleni Local Municipality, Govan Mbeki Local Municipality, Victor Khanye Local Municipality, and Thembisile Hani Local Municipality were without water by day two of the four-day planned maintenance yesterday.
Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo said Rand Water reported that progress on the B16 project had been steady throughout the night and remained on track for completion as scheduled.
'Necessary interventions'
Joburg Water warned residents that it would put in necessary interventions, including closing outlets. An alternate water supply had been arranged to assist with the recovery and restoration process.
'While many of the reservoirs had fair supply and capacity with poor pressure due to high demand, the Doornkop Reservoir was constrained and the outlet was closed due to poor pressure and no water.'
ALSO READ: Tshwane's water warning to residents
Joburg Water also warned residents who receive water from the Deep South system that high demand was constraining the system.
'The system improved and supplied throughout the day, but is declining. Joburg Water is putting in the necessary intervention, including closing outlets overnight to build capacity.'
Joburg Water also indicated that the Orange Farm Reservoir, Ennerdale Reservoir, Lawley Reservoir, Lenasia Hospital Hill and Lenasia High Level were at fair capacity.
WaterCAN's Ferrial Adam said: 'The Alexander reservoir that feeds Kensington and Bruma was not pumping at the right pressure and they had to sort it out, which meant that area didn't have water.
'There were other low reservoirs linked to the Rand Water pipe burst that happened about two to three weeks ago,' Adam said.
ALSO READ: 21-day water outage in Joburg set to begin Friday
In Tshwane in most areas expected to be affected, taps ran dry with residents taking to social media for updates on where to collect water. Equestria, Faerie Glen, Eastlynn and Waterkloof reported dry taps, while residents in Moreleta had water.
Water outage warning
City of Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba last week warned residents of Region 6 and some parts of Regions 2 and 3 to urgently reduce water consumption as the levels of the reservoirs supplying these areas were dropping significantly.
ALSO READ: Municipal water crisis 'nothing to do with bulk water supply', says minster at LHWP reopening
Bokaba said continued high consumption was likely to put consumers at risk of having no water from today until the work was completed.
'The high volume of consumption is also putting the city's distribution network and Rand Water systems under severe pressure,' he said. Bokaba reminded customers that the water utility would also isolate the Klipriviersberg Master Reservoir from the Palmiet system for 10 hours from tomorrow.
'This is to allow the water utility's technicians to clean and conduct an inspection on the reservoir. During this period, pumping will be reduced to 67% at the Palmiet station.
'The City of Tshwane apologises for the inconvenience as a result of the abovementioned maintenance work,' Bokaba added.
NOW READ: Gauteng residents warned to brace for major water disruptions this week
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Dribs and drabs: Suburbs in the east of Joburg have spent eight days and counting without water. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy It is early on Monday morning and I wake to the sound of a rumble of thunder and a flash of lightning. This is followed by the unmistakable sound of raindrops on the roof. The promised cold front has arrived. Ignoring the icy cold I leap out of bed and rush outside barefoot to check that my primitive water collection system is in place. The old plastic rubbish bin and the vintage zinc bathtub have to be positioned correctly to catch the maximum amount of water running down from my leaking gutters. The reason for this frantic early morning activity is that our suburb is one of the many that have been affected by the ongoing water crisis. The east of Joburg has been particularly badly hit recently and I have not had water for at least eight days since the one day where there was a weak trickle from the taps. 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To do the washing-up requires a visit to a friend's house to collect multiple bottles of water. Back home I must heat up water in the kettle and in pots on the stove to clear the unsavoury mess in the kitchen. Grudgingly I fill the dogs' water bowl while delivering a stern lecture on their reckless water consumption. I pour a small glass of water to wash down my blood pressure pills and make sure there is enough left to rinse after brushing my teeth. It is time for the first news diary meeting of the week and once again I tell my colleagues how lucky they are that this is a remote meeting and none of them have to be confined in a small office space with me. A daily shower in the morning is a distant memory so personal hygiene standards have dropped. There is a discussion about how the water crisis is a major story and we have to cover it. But we have done this so many times before that the problem is how to present it in a different way that will make people want to read it. There is no easy solution to this problem so I return to the kitchen in the hope that there is enough water in the kettle for a second cup of coffee. Like a moth to a flame I check on the Water Crisis: Time for Action WhatsApp group. There are 109 new messages, mostly from people saying that there is still no water in their street. There is a map with a growing red line marking the areas that don't have water. There are messages filled with angry words in capital letters. There are plans to hold protests and to visit the offices of those responsible for this shocking lack of basic services. There are many posts about the whereabouts of the elusive water tankers, and many pictures of people filling up containers. The unusual sight of people pushing wheelbarrows filled with plastic bottles down the tree-lined suburban streets has become a familiar one. And there are alarming stories about how air being pushed through the pipes keeps your meter ticking over even though there is no water. In among all this I come across an official statement: 'Today, MMC Jack Sekwaila conducted a site inspection at the Alexandra Park Reservoir with Johannesburg water officials, including Ops GM Mzakhwe Mtshweni. The visit formed part of the city's efforts to accelerate water recovery in affected areas and assess the condition of critical pipeline infrastructure. During the inspection, severe blockages were discovered — caused by illegal dumping, vandalism, and misuse of underground systems. In a concerning development, some underground chambers are being accessed and used as shelter by unhoused individuals, highlighting a deeper human and infrastructure crisis.' In desperate need of distraction I page through a cookery book looking for a new one-pot recipe to make for supper. Perhaps a hearty minestrone soup that the family can spoon from the communal pot. I need to shop for ingredients and the trip to the supermarket takes me down one of the main streets of the suburb. For more than a month it has been reduced to one lane by a series of large craters, the result of ongoing work to repair several sewage pipe leaks. It is not surprising to see nasty grey-green water bubbling up from a new hole in the road. The good news is that I have a gas stove to cook the meal on because there is another fault at the local substation and the power is out. At this stage it is like water off a duck's back.
