In a constitutional democracy such as South Africa, water is regarded as a human right.
According to Ward 56 councillor Michael Crichton, certain residents suffered a nine-day water outage from July 4 to 13.
“The South Hills water tower supplies thousands of these residents across the suburbs of South Hills, Linmeyer, Risana and Tulisa Park.
“That time the water outages were allegedly from an explosion at Rand Water’s Palmiet pumping station that took days to fix, and then the Meyershill reservoir (that supplies among others Johannesburg Water’s South Hills water tower) had to fill up, which also took a few days to get to a capacity that was adequate for them to supply water.
“Now these beleaguered residents have suffered yet another water crisis with the water drying up again for the past days, and it’s not yet clear when the water will be restored.
“This time the issue allegedly emanated from a power failure at Rand Water’s Zuikerbosh pumping station, which is responsible for water supply across parts of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and even parts of Mpumalanga.
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“This power failure has apparently been rectified, but with the various water reservoirs having run completely dry, it was always going to take some time to refill. With the Meyershill reservoir being on a high ridge, historically it has usually been one of the last reservoirs to fill up.
“This morning (August 29) we got a sense of false hope when Rand Water’s telemetry system said the Meyershill reservoir was at 32%, enough to pump water through the South Hills Water tower, only for it to be an incorrect reading. It remains unclear when these residents will receive water again,” he said.
Crichton, with Ward 57 Clr Faeeza Chame, expressed their dismay about this situation.
“We are deeply disappointed with Rand Water’s lack of feedback around this crisis. It is also the second time within a short period that these residents have endured lengthy water outages, which infringes on our residents’ human rights,” they said.
The councillors added that with Rand Water being a national department, they call on Parliament to hold the minister of water affairs and sanitation accountable.
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“We are also shocked at Rand Water’s apparent lack of initiative to ensure their facilities operate optimally given that they perform such a key function. MMC for Johannesburg South Manny de Freitas will also be submitting a question to the minister in this regard,” noted the councillors.
Justice Mohale’s, from Rand Water, response:
“Rand Water has undertaken additional interventions from its other healthier systems to supplement the Klipriviersberg reservoir that feeds the Meyershill reservoir.
“Last night (August 30), the Klipriviersberg reservoir was at 4m head and required a 5m head in order to commence with the supply of water to the Meyershill reservoir. Rand Water is confident that once the 5m head is achieved, water would begin to flow into Meyershill reservoir, and ultimately into the South Hills tower.
“We are confident the above-mentioned reservoirs will achieve the required 5m head level overnight and the affected areas will begin to receive water in the morning.
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“Rand Water will continue to monitor the reservoir levels throughout the night and will inform its customers (Johannesburg Water) when there is sufficient water in the Meyershill reservoir. Thereafter, Johannesburg Water will begin pumping water into South Hills tower and restore water supply to affected areas, which are Linmeyer, South Hills, Risana and The Hill.
“Rand Water would like to urge consumers to use water sparingly and apologises for any inconvenience caused.”
