Urgent water crisis meeting provides answers for residents

Residents supplied by the South Hills Water Tower have been without water for several weeks, again.

The South Hills water tower supplies water to areas across wards 56 and 57, namely Linmeyer, South Hills, Risana, Thulisa Park, Rosettenville extension, parts of Oakdene and the new developments in Moffat Park.

The ward councillors, Michael Crichton and Faeeza Chame, called for an urgent meeting on September 13 at the Silver Ball in Risana with the residents and Johannesburg Water to address the water crisis and provide those affected with answers and solutions.

A humanitarian crisis at hand

This is not the first time in recent years that water outages have hit the residents of these areas.

Recently, it had a devastating effect on these communities, causing schools and clinics to close temporarily. At some retirement homes in these areas, the elderly have challenges carrying their water to and from the water trucks.

The continuous outages date back to June 2021, when there was a nine-day water outage and these issues have reoccurred every few months since then.

According to Crichton and Chame, Johannesburg Water has stated they had a supply issue from Rand Water’s side.

“Rand Water has given little to no communication to us as the ward councillors or the public. When we contact them, the standard response is ‘We have communicated with Johannesburg Water and everyone must communicate with Johannesburg Water as per protocol’,” said Crichton and Chame.

According to a resident from Linmeyer, they have experienced issues since August 11 where there is no water during the day and they get some water between 22:00 and 07:00.

Residents gathered at the meeting demanded answers regarding the lack of consistent water flow and its severe impact on their day-to-day lives. Basic tasks like cooking, cleaning and personal hygiene have become increasingly difficult and the frustrations of the residents are reaching an unbearable level.

An explanation of the current issue

Johannesburg Water networks manager, Logan Munsamy, addressed the residents saying, “The pump station must pump water to the South Hills water tower, which supplies water to the surrounding areas. Johannesburg Water relies on water supply from Rand Water to feed the pump that pumps the water into the tower.

“Over the last two weeks, we have identified that the issue has worsened. The incoming water supply to the pump station is either zero or extremely reduced. The challenge faced by Johannesburg Water is no water coming into the pump station. As a result, we cannot run the pumps.”

He added, “Johannesburg Water buys water from Rand Water, which comes via the reservoir over the ridge called Kliprivier Berg Reservoir, which feeds the pump station that pumps water and distributes it to the households.

“At the moment, the Kliprivier Berg Reservoir is very low, as it needs to be at about a 30% level capacity to safely feed the pumps for water distribution. The demand on the system is high and this results in the reservoirs taking longer to recover.”

Munsamy highlighted there is higher demand and consumption during the summer and spring months, which are contributing factors.

Water pump trips and generator update

In addition to the water crisis, the pumps at the South Hills water tower continuously trip and residents received no clear explanation before they held the urgent meeting.

Another concerning factor for these communities is the generator at the water tower is seemingly out of commission. As a result, it affects the water supply every time there is load-shedding.

At the meeting, Munsamy said, “The generator is currently undergoing repairs, fixing parts such as the radiator, injectors and diesel pump. We will update the residents when the repairs and installation are complete.”

Possible solutions

“We have tried to get a resolution from Jack Sekwaila, the MMC for Environment and Services (EIS) where Johannesburg Water falls under, but he has rarely responded to messages.

“It was also shocking to note that the Executive Mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, has been silent about the South Hills tower crisis.

“Considering this crisis, the DA’s Stephen Moore, MP, has raised these issues with the Minister of Water Affairs, Senzo Mchunu in Parliament. The Shadow Minister of Water Affairs, Leon Basson, has also submitted written questions about this crisis,” said Crichton and Chame.

According to Munsamy, Rand Water and Joburg Water are looking at solutions such as reinstating the reservoir across the road from the South Hills water tower, repositioning and changing the air valves on the line or reinstating the supply line. In addition, Rand Water has engaged, analysed and is looking into reconfiguring its system.

“As the local ward councillors we are also looking to bring forward a motion to the council about this crisis where we will call for a full investigation into the functionality of the South Hills water tower,” said Crichton and Chame.

Joburg Water and the ward councillor will provide the residents with an update and clear plan of action to resolve the water crisis within a week.