Water outages: Other parts of SA in dire straits too

Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu this week addressed the three-day (54-hour) water outages in Gauteng required to carry out planned maintenance work on the pipelines.

Rand Water said it was doing maintenance on pipes supplying the Vereeniging purification plant.

Water outages in South Africa

Gauteng water shutdown

This follows after Rand Water announced last week affected municipalities had been notified of the planned maintenance and contingency plans.

However, while Mchunu assured Gauteng residents that there would be water supply during the shutdown, a number of other areas in the country are currently experiencing water shortages as well.

This either includes intermittent supply, or areas where projects are underway with little to no progress.

eThekwini supply water issues

Even though the eThekwini Metro water situation in Durban is described as “fairly stable”, residents in some areas have been experiencing intermittent supply.

Addressing the media in Tshwane on Monday, Mchunu said supply interruptions in the eThekwini are mainly due to demand exceeding supply.

“Overall, eThekwini Metro has a challenge of ageing infrastructure. This is resulting in frequent failures in some areas”, Mchunu said.

Gqeberha water outages

Meanwhile, in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape, residents have been experiencing water outages as a result of the decreasing dam levels caused by an increase in demand.

Mchunu said his department was informed of the challenges in Gqeberha, adding that the Nooitgedacht Water Scheme – “which we are attending to” – must be completed as soon as possible.

Mchunu said in order to avert “Day Zero” and work towards water security in the area (and the country as a whole), compliance to water restrictions needs to be emphasised and adhered to.

‘No water crisis yet’

Mchunu said his department was “working tirelessly to ensure that we deliver quality water and sanitation services to all the citizens of the country.

He said this will require “the concerted efforts of government, the private sector, civil organisations and citizens”.

The minister also called on citizens to use water sparingly.

“The water that we have now is less but that does not mean there is a water crisis,” Mchunu said.

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