Load shedding also to blame for delays in full recovery of water supply

Johannesburg Water said some areas are still without supply due to not enough pressure pumping water in the reservoirs.

This comes after Rand Water’s three-day maintenance shutdown, which affected more than 220 suburbs forcing residents to panic buy and store water for the outage.

While Rand Water completed the 58-hour project on Friday, some areas are still not fully restored and have not had water for six days.

Joburg Water said major recovery in supply was made on Sunday, but it will take time for all areas to be fully restored.

Load shedding also to blame

The utility said load shedding has impacted the recovery of certain areas.

“Residents are reminded that although the planned shutdown is over, full recovery of the system generally takes longer not only because of the magnitude of the shutdown, but also the complex nature of systems. Load shedding has also impacted the recovery of certain areas as power outages affect pumping at the entity’s systems.

“Tankers continue to be provided for areas that have not yet fully recovered, such as the Meadowlands and Braamfischerville systems, the Crown Gardens reservoir, the Blairgowrie reservoir, the Linden 1 reservoir, as well as the Linden 2 tower,” the utility said.

ALSO READ: Joburg Water warns residents that full supply may take time

Airlock

Rand Water on Saturday warned that there might be some further delays in flow as a result of airlocks, which developed in the pipelines during the maintenance process.

An airlock is a pocket of air in a pipeline that prevents flow. This usually happens when bubbles gather in the pipeline.

In a statement, the utility said several reservoirs had run empty and would take several days to be fully restored.

“Due to the system [having] been empty for close to three days, it is bound to have airlocks,” it said.

“To mitigate this matter, the system may require to be momentarily decommissioned to release [the] airlock that assembled during the maintenance process.”

Rand Water said affected areas are expected to have water fully restored by Monday.

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