Joburg water woes as maintenance continues: Here are the affected areas

Residents of Johannesburg and neighbouring areas are feeling the pinch as Rand Water’s maintenance mission enters its 16th day, with many households facing low water pressure and water outage for others.

Despite promises to supply water tankers, Rand Water and Joburg Water have failed to deliver, leaving residents frustrated and concerned.

According to Johannesburg Water, the maintenance at Rand Water’s Eikenhof Pump Station is ongoing until 12 July, and while some systems have improved, others remain constrained due to local factors.

“The entity’s systems are back into normal operation, but they are however constrained due to high demand; and this is exacerbated by the growing population, vandalism of infrastructure, and illegal connections,” said Johannesburg Water in a statement, on Sunday.

Furthermore, the utility company said it is monitoring systems and has implemented various interventions to respond to the varying supply, demand, and reservoir levels.

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However, residents in high-lying areas have been alerted to expect low water pressure to no water supply.

“We are working hard to ensure that our customers receive a reliable water supply, but we appeal to them to use water sparingly and report any leaks or bursts to us immediately,” the utility added.

Some of the areas experiencing poor water pressure to no water supply include Orange Farm, Ennerdale, and Lawley. This is due to high demand exceeding available supply.

Johannesburg Water is closing reservoir outlets overnight to build capacity and reconfiguring systems for equitable distribution of available capacity.

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The following areas are experiencing challenges:

• Orange Farm Reservoir: Water levels are decreasing due to high demand, leading to poor pressure and no water in some areas.
• Ennerdale Reservoir: The system is supplying fairly but declining due to high demand, resulting in poor pressure and no water in high-lying areas.
• Lawley Reservoir: The reservoir is critically low and declining, affecting the stability of the system and leading to poor pressure to no water in the supply zone.
• Commando system: Demand exceeds supply, putting strain on the system, with reconfigurations in progress for equitable distribution.
• Crosby Reservoir: The reservoir level has improved, but supply is fair, with pumping to Brixton Reservoir between 70% and 100% depending on available inflows.
• Brixton Reservoir and Tower: The reservoir is supplying fairly but declining, with the outlet closed overnight to build capacity.
• Hursthill 1 and 2 Reservoirs: Both reservoirs have improved but are constrained, with poor pressure expected in high-lying areas.
• Soweto systems: Most systems are supplied fairly, but the Doornkop West Reservoir is constrained, and poor pressure may occur in high-lying areas.

Planned maintenance: 9 July -12 July

Ferndale, Lenasia (Ext 1 and Extension 2) Poortjie Township and Dark City Informal Settlement are areas which will be affected by the water maintenance from 9 July, to 11 and 12 July respectively.

The streets affected in Ferndale include:

• Corner West and Rocky Street
• Rommer Street
• Hylauma Street

There will be no water for the duration of 8 hours throughout the maintenance.

The streets affected in Lenasia include:

• Gemsbok Street
• Kingfisher Street
• Hummingbird Avenue
• Cuckoo Avenue
• Smew Avenue
• Guinea Fowl Street

Residents in the aforementioned areas will have poor water pressure on adjacent streets for approximately 15 hours.

All the streets in Poortjie Township and Dark City Informal Settlement will be affected by the planned maintenance.

The procedure is set to last a duration of 7 hours.

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The utility urged residents to report any water-related issues to its customer service center on 0860 562 874.

Moreover, it advised residents to conserve water and use it sparingly to avoid exacerbating the situation.