Joburg mayor apologises for water shortages, admits to a lack of communication

This comes after the water supply systems were severely affected over large parts of the City of Gold by a lightning strike which caused a power outage to the Eikenhof Substation ten days ago.

This led to the problem at the Eikenhof pump station, which is a major supply source for water in the City last week.

Residents and businesses were left with dry taps across 20 suburbs over the past 10 days. 

Gwamanda's office released a statement on Tuesday evening, in which he says the City is fully aware of the frustration caused by the disruption and the impact on households and businesses. 

"We continue to monitor the system and are now able to report to residents that several key reservoirs have returned to stability and that supply has since resumed into households, especially in the low-lying areas.

"We have now focused our attention on two critical reservoirs namely, Linden 1, Linden 2 and Blairgowrie systems. These systems remain critically low to empty. 

"The Kensington B reservoir is on a recovery trajectory, and we anticipate it will take a couple of days to show significant improvements. All other systems have either recovered fully or are steadily recovering and showing no signs of further vulnerability. We wish to assure residents that the best skills and experienced professionals are on hand to ensure that we fully recover the system and restore supply to all residents."

The mayor acknowledges that the City can improve both coordination and communication when confronted with a similar event in future. 

"Whilst it was an unforeseen and unintended disruption, we have equally taken lessons on how to best manage future natural and unplanned disasters affecting our environment. 

"We once more extend our appreciation to the residents and councilors who have cooperated with the City during this unpleasant episode and wish to assure all affected residents of our unyielding commitment to reliable and sustainable supply of water at all times.

"Our teams will continue to monitor the system until we can confirm it has fully recovered and all affected areas have been restored and reservoirs recuperated.

"We urge residents who remain without supply to exercise a bit more patience and to be aware that no effort is being spared to restore supply as soon as is possible. We will continuously update our social media platforms and councilors on any developments relating to this crisis until we have fully recovered the system and urge residents to follow closely our updates on these platforms."

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