UPDATE: Rand Water and metro agree water supply needs urgent attention
“Water supply is steadily improving in some of the affected areas.”
Following nearly a week of water interruptions affecting large parts of the city, the management of Rand Water as well as the executive committee of the City of Ekurhuleni has agreed that the matter needs to be addressed urgently.
In a statement released by the metro’s spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini, a delegation including Mayor Tania Campbell, MMC for Water and Energy Senzi Sibeko and the city manager Dr Imogen Mashazi along with Rand Water’s chairperson of the board, Ramateu Monyokolo, and CEO Sipho Mosai agreed that water security can only be achieved through conservation and increasing the city’s storage capacity.
As taps ran dry, residents, businesses and various organisations have been forced to seek temporary solutions.
“Since the beginning of the water crisis, we have not seen nor have we been approached by the metro to deploy water tankers to our facility,” said Zina Rotherham of The Almond Tree, Van Ryn Small Holdings.
“We are fortunate to have access to a borehole to ensure that all our facilities have access to water, however once load-shedding is in effect we cannot pump water.”
Annie Jungmann of The Animal Guardians in Rynfield AH said that the lack of water has been of grave concern to the organisation but that donations received from members of the community and schools, such as Hoërskool Brandwag, have ensured that the animals in its care remain hydrated.
“We have been making use of borehole water from a neighbouring property to maintain our daily kennel cleaning schedules,” said Jungmann.
“This situation has become dire. Drastic action needs to be taken before the entire network collapses.”
As the temperatures continued to rise at the beginning of the week, local schools urged children to bring extra water to class and where possible containers were placed at classrooms for handwashing.
Dlamini reiterated that the current decrease in water levels at various reservoirs can be attributed to load-shedding and the recent heat wave which resulted in the high demand for water thus depleting the reserves.
“Delegates agreed that similar protocols implemented during the 2015 and 2016 drought need to be revisited for best practice handling of the current situation,” said Dlamini.
“The need for clear and regular updates from the utility was also highlighted thus ensuring that those affected have access to accurate and up-to-date information.”
He stated that since the 2014/15 financial year, the city has invested millions in new and additional reservoirs including the biggest water tower in Africa, based in Northmead, as a water security measure.
To date, the Benoni City Times has not been able to secure a follow-up meeting with Sibeko regarding the completion of the water tower.
It was previously reported that construction of the structure would be completed in June, last year, however, this has not materialised.
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