Tshwane water woes: no end in sight

While inconsistent, the water woes in Tshwane have seen water contaminated and undrinkable at times for the past few years. Earlier this year, Sinkwater residents were left without water for three weeks following a pipe leak from the major pipeline.

This year has also been a year of power cuts for the city with the most recent water interruption on 9 May following a shutdown of Bynes Substation for essential maintenance work for 11 hours.

Rooihuiskraal residents endured eight hours of emergency maintenance work for upgrades. Equipment failure at the Mapleton Booster Station that fed the Vlakfontein and Bronberg reservoirs left a large part without water for up to 14 hours at a pumping capacity of 58%.

In 2019 the Human Rights Commission warned Hammanskraal that the water was not fit for consumption following and independent sample analysis was done by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations, Daryl Johnston said the city received the water test results for Rethabiseng and Riamarpark.

“There is slight discolouration in the water and microbiological contaminants in the water that reaches residents. During our tests of the water at the reservoir and water is provided from our plant, the result was that the water is clean,” he said.

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