Rand Water urges Gauteng residents to use water sparingly
Rand Water has warned of rapidly depleting reservoirs due to extremely high water consumption.
The depletion is due to high temperatures, power outages, and maintenance work.
Rand Water said storage levels have dropped from nearly 70-percent to below 40-percent since last month.
Spokesperson Makenosi Maroo has called on Gauteng metros to reduce consumption to avoid system collapse.
"Our Rand Water systems are dropping fast as a result of extremely high water consumption from our customers, namely the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane, as reported in our weekly consumption figures. Rand Water continues to supply at maximum capacity, however, the storage is declining rapidly owing to high water consumption.
"Rand Water calls on the three metros, City of Johannesburg, City of Ekurhuleni and City of Tshwane to reduce their consumption to avoid system collapse, which might affect other customers as well. The water systems are interlinked and high consumption in one area will impact on the sustainable provision in other areas.
"Water conservation is a joint responsibility that must be observed and practiced by all customers to ensure sustainable and equitable supply of water. The rising temperatures and high-water consumption and electricity outages have exacerbated the issue of declining systems."
The Johannesburg High Court, meanwhile, temporarily closed its doors on Wednesday due to water shortages in the metro. Alternative measures have since been put in place regarding all matters scheduled on the court roll for the day.
Johannesburg Water indicated earlier today that its systems are currently impacted by varying network challenges, primarily due to high demand exceeding available capacity.
"Further to the network challenges, Johannesburg Water systems performance was also impacted by the Emfuleni power failure which disrupted pumping from Rand Water's Forest Hill and Eikenhof systems. The power supply was restored last night, which allowed RW to start pumping. RW has confirmed that both systems are now pumping at full load", the statement read.
"We are observing gradual improvement and in some cases recovery of certain parts of the system. However, JW systems are still under strain, leading to lower reservoir and tower levels. This may cause reduced water pressure or, in some areas, a complete loss of supply. We urge residents to reduce water consumption wherever possible to help stabilise the system."
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