Last week the City of Johannesburg implemented Stage 2 water restrictions in parts of the city serviced by Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes and Palmiet pump stations in a bid to stave off further outages.
Rand Water had informed the municipality that its water supply had shrunk from 52% to 38% and by implementing restrictions it hoped to restore capacity levels to 60%.
Residents living in low-lying areas in particular are at risk of water shortages as reservoirs and towers threaten to run dry due to high-water usage because of the hot weather and power outages as a result of load-shedding. “The water network relies on electricity to pump water,” said Johannesburg Water (JW) spokesperson Puleng Mopeli.
Residents have been requested to only use water for human and household needs during this crisis with JW stating that Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph hospitals had also been impacted. Further afield, Baragwanath and Doctor Matsheke hospitals were without water last week due to the installation of a 700mm steel water pipe.
“Johannesburg Water requests customers in lower lying areas to lower their usage to assist with the recovery of constrained systems. Several water systems remain at critically low levels as systems are not recovering due to high water usage coupled with the effects of power outages,” added Mopeli.
Some residents in Melville have been without water for two weeks with one writing on social media: ‘I’ve slipped into a state of resignation and low-grade depression at the lunacy of all of this. We’re not at war. We haven’t been hit by a hurricane or tornado. The whole thing beggar’s belief. Are they still touting this place as a ‘world-class African city?’
Communities are coming together to find solutions such as the Auckland Park Mosque which has opened its doors to allow residents to come and fill their containers from their borehole water.
Councillor for Ward 87 Bridget Steer said, “It’s a disaster. They had to close the reservoirs yesterday to build capacity after Rand Water reduced its supply to them. If everyone plays their part in terms of following guidelines to save water, we should be stable by the weekend.”
Ward 88 residents association member Neil Ferguson said, “The main problem area in the ward is Emmarentia which is fed by the Hursthill reservoir. It is not at sufficient supply to meet demand at the moment which they are trying to remedy but has resulted in intermittent water outages. Northcliff has seen some residents without water but that was due to upgrades. There is also no backup power at reservoirs, like for Northcliff, so when load-shedding occurs it is a major problem with water supplies, especially during Stage 6 outages, it’s a nightmare.”
MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department Michael Sun recently said, “We must keep in mind that Johannesburg’s pipe network is still largely made up of asbestos pipelines. These are ageing and prone to frequent bursts.” This alone accounts for a high number of service interruptions across the city due to maintenance and upgrades in both planned and unplanned interventions. he explained.
This is a developing story.
The restrictions are to be implemented as follows until further notice according to section 44 (3) of the Water Services By-Laws:
Residents are asked:
- Not to water and irrigate their gardens from 6am to 6pm every day
- Not to fill their swimming pools with municipal water
- Not to use hosepipes to wash cars, paved areas etc
- Not to leave taps dripping
- Only take shallow baths, and
- Use bathwater or grey water to water the garden.
A half-filled bath uses about 113 litres of water versus a five-minute shower which only uses around 56 litres. (Source: Joburg Water)
