Should you switch off your geyser during water cuts?

The upcoming 54-hour water supply outage has Johannesburg residents in affected areas in planning mode as they gear up to set up their lives in such a way that they don’t feel the effects.

In addition to getting large bottles and storage tanks for water to use for cooking and drinking during the outage, some have been left wondering whether or not their geyser should be left on. 

This is because it is unclear whether or not there will be no water at all or low water pressure in some areas. 

Rand Water has announced its planned shut down of its B11 and B19 pipelines from 15 to 17 November that will see parts of Gauteng experiencing a shortage of water or low pressure.

“The shutdown forms part of Rand Water’s B19 Pipeline Augmentation Project and is the final leg of this program that will increase the volumes of the B19 pipeline and therefore ensure sustainable supply of water to the consumers,” said Rand Water on Monday. Currently, the B19 pipeline has limited usage since it is only fully connected to the B5 pipeline. Completion of work on this shutdown will result in the total integration of three pipelines namely, the B5, B11 and B19 pipelines.”

READ: Water shutdown doesn’t mean no water, assures Rand Water

“Please note that this does not mean that there will be no supply of water during the shutdown. However, due to the duration of the shutdown some of your areas may experience shortage of water or low pressure.”

Experts on various platforms have, however, stated the contrary, explaining that certain areas may find themselves without water if they are situated in high-lying areas. 

According to an article in the Randburg Sun, plumber Eugene Foster said leaving your geyser on will be the same as switching on an empty kettle. 

“If there is no water in the kettle and you switch it on, the element will obviously burn.”

As such, if you live in an area where there will be no water supply in the geyser during the outage, the element of the geyser will be running without water, which will increase the chances of having a burst geyser.

To avoid bursting your geyser, Foster advises residents to switch off their geyser at the trip switch on the circuit breaker. 

“You can switch the geyser back on once the water supply is fully restored,” he concluded. 

Rand Water has urged all consumers to continue using water sparingly.