ICYMI: Rand Water outlines plan for major maintenance work
Rand Water has outlined plans for maintenance work that is set to begin on Thursday.
The bulk water supplier held a press briefing on Tuesday to elaborate on the project that is expected to last until next Monday.
Residents in several municipalities, including Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and Johannesburg
During the maintenance, pumping capacity would be reduced at the Eikenhof, Palmiet, Mapleton, and Zwartkopjes systems.
“The biggest work that we will be embarking on, starting on Thursday, is one that brings new infrastructure to commission. An additional 600 million litres of water will now be fully commissioned into our systems,” said Rand Water Chief Operations Officer Mahlomola Mehlo.
The rollout of Rand Water’s maintenance work is expected to last over 107 hours on Thursday.
READ MORE: Rand Water maintenance to hit Joburg, Tshwane & Ekurhuleni
Breaking down the phases of the work, which is aimed at increasing capacity and improving plant availability, reliability, and operational efficiency, Mehlo said they would begin with the complete shutdown of the Mapleton pump.
“The impacted areas for this work are the City of Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, and municipalities in Mpumalanga – Govan Mbeki, Victor Khanye, and Thembisile Hani. We also have smaller direct customers along this line who will also be affected.”
Rand Water chief executive Sipho Mosai assured residents of consistent communication throughout the planned maintenance of water lines.
Mosai urged affected communities to look out for updates on Rand Water’s official communication platforms and any communication from their local authority.
“We don’t anticipate that people will be buying big drums and large quantities of water, costing them an arm and a leg. We will, as much as possible, communicate from our end, but we’ll work very closely with the local municipalities.”
According to Mosai, Rand Water spends close to R400 million per annum on repairs and maintenance.
“We conduct our major maintenance during the low-demand periods, and the first low-demand period is in the winter months. We also have a small window of opportunity in December to undertake major maintenance. This is just after the school holidays leading up to the Christmas period, as during that period, decants and demand drop,” explained Mosai.
Residents have been urged to use water sparingly until the maintenance project has been completed.
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