Joburg water outage: Few areas remain affected as system recovers
Johannesburg residents affected by the Eikenhof pump station outage will have to wait a few more days for the water supply to return to normal.
Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, City Manager Floyd Brink, and Environment and Infrastructure Services Department MMC Jack Sekwaila joined Joburg Water officials at a press briefing in Southdale on Friday.
They gave an update on interventions to restore water following supply disruptions triggered by City Power outages on Sunday and Monday.
Affected areas include Soweto, Randburg, Roodepoort, Joburg South, and Central.
Officials have been working to address the four-day water disruptions.
Gwamanda said some improvements to the system had been registered since Wednesday but added that more time was needed for a full restoration, especially in high-lying areas.
“Our systems will take time to recover. This is because water is not like electricity; you cannot just flip a switch and it comes back on. Water goes through the 12,400 km pipeline of various systems around the City of Johannesburg.”
However, the city manager said while there had been some improvements in Soweto, Boschkop, Honeydew, and other affected areas, including Roodepoort, Linden, and Blairgowrie, were still lagging.
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Johannesburg Water's systems are progressively recovering. ^X pic.twitter.com/i73vyiR8bx
Thirty-five water tankers have been deployed to service affected communities, while the health department confirmed supply had been restored at most health facilities.
The water utility approached bulk water supplier Rand Water to boost recovery by pumping an additional 100 megalitres of water into the system.
“As Joburg Water, we had to approach Rand Water to start pumping an additional 100 megalitres of water in order for us to stabilise the system. We are doing this because all our systems are interconnected. It is, therefore, possible for us to augment and support one another in the recovery process,” Brink said.
READ MORE: Water supply restored to most Gauteng hospitals
MANAGING SUPPLY AND DEMAND AMID HEATWAVE
Brink again called on residents to use water sparingly to aid the Eikenhof system’s recovery.
“If you look at our demand, as the City of Johannesburg, compared to the supply that we are getting from the bulk supplier Rand Water, that is where our main problem is. That is why we are asking that we use water wisely. All of this is exacerbated by the heat wave.”
Brink said officials had taken on maintenance work to address water losses such as leaks and manage wastage.
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