Tshwane taps trickling: Residents battle ongoing water shortage

The water woes in the capital city continue as many areas still have little to no water following supply issues.

City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink said large parts of the capital were without water after Rand Water informed Tshwane of several power outages affecting their water supply.

Tshwane water shortage

Brink said Tshwane was dependent on Rand Water for up to 70% of its water supply. “When Rand Water does not pump water into our reservoirs or give restriction pressure to stabilise their water levels, then taps run dry in our municipality,” he said.

Brink said this happened a few months ago in the east of Pretoria, where residents were without water for days.

Water supply issues

In April, Rand Water explained that cable theft and stage 5 and 6 load shedding had affected the water supply.

“We have asked them to share their real-time indications of how full their reservoirs are.

“We know when their reservoirs dip below 60% we are bound to have problems with water in Tshwane. “And to inform us in advance to take remedial action on our side by restricting water,” he said.

City’s finances

Brink said his priority was to get the capital’s finances under control.

“We have not hidden the fact that Tshwane has financial problems. But every time Rand Water shuts the supply to Tshwane, we are compelled to spend millions on water tankers,” he said.

Brink said the city could be spending this money on paying creditors, including Rand Water.

“We asked Rand Water at the weekend if the water restrictions were because Rand Water had problems or if it was credit action against Tshwane.”

Rand Water supply challenges

There are no legal grounds for credit action to be taken against Tshwane by Rand Water.

MMC for utilities and regional operations and coordination councillor Themba Fosi said he was escalating the Rand Water supply challenges to the minister of water and sanitation.

“Despite continuously engaging with Rand Water on the water supply issues we face in Tshwane, we are not receiving any accurate or updated information from the water utility.

“Despite public commitments by Rand Water that they would continuously share their reservoir levels with the city this is also not happening, making it impossible for us to anticipate shortages,” he said.

Fosi said they could only conclude that Rand Water had internal supply issues and cannot balance its supply to the city.

“The result is that as one reservoir recovers sufficiently another has its supply throttled totally and drops capacity,” he said.

Affected areas

Fosi said Klapperkop North and South, Lotus Gardens, Heuweloord, Mnandi South, Bakenkop East and West and Bakenkop Tower, Mooikloof, Sunderland Ridge, Salvokop and Rooihuiskraal reservoirs currently posed massive challenges for the city.

“The city conducted tests on incoming Rand Water lines and we have found 0% pressure on many of the reservoirs listed above. In the meantime, we appeal to residents to use water sparingly.”

A Rand Water spokesperson said the entity would comment after the meetings have concluded on the matter.