12-hour water outage: These areas will be affected

Residents in Pretoria East will have to endure a 12-hour water outage starting on Monday due to a planned shutdown for maintenance repairs.

This is the third water shut down this month. Several parts of Tshwane were affected by water supply problems earlier this month due to a power failure at a Rand Water booster station.

Water outage in Tshwane

Necessary maintencance

Rand Water will add tie-ins and meter connections on the newly installed pipeline, starting at 5 pm on Monday, 28 February.

If everything goes according to plan, the work will be completed by 5 am on Tuesday, 1 March.

Affected areas in Tswhane

The reservoirs in the following affected areas will be filled before the shutdown:

• Hatherley
• Kwaggafontein
• Mahube Valley
• Mamelodi
• Nellmapius
• Portion 23, Zwartkoppies (Savannah Country Estate)
• Sammy Marks Museum
• Shere
• Silver Lakes
• Six Fountains
• Willow Acres
• Zwartkoppies

Previous water outage

On 19 February, Rand Water had closed off the water supply from the Vlakfontein Reservoir which supplies parts of regions three, four and six – largely the eastern part of Pretoria.

The City of Tshwane’s Water and Sanitation Department said it was not informed that the water supply had been cut, but Rand Water had shut down the supply three days earlier.

“The city was not informed by Rand Water about this shutdown of the supply and we are escalating the matter,” said Water and Sanitation MMC Phillip Nel.

How to save water

The City of Tshwane called on residents to “save water and use it sparingly at all times.”

• Ensure dripping taps are closed properly.
• Repair leaking taps and toilets as soon as possible.
• Wash your vehicle on the grass and water your lawn at the same time.
• Put an empty 2L plastic bottle or a brick in the toilet’s water tank.
• Use a watering-can whenever possible, instead of a hosepipe.
• Shorten your shower time and install water-reducing heads.
• Reduce the amount of bath water and avoid filling the bath to a depth greater than 100mm.
• Don’t leave the tap open while shaving or brushing your teeth; use a glass of water to rinse instead.
• Reuse bath and shower water for your garden and pot plants.
• Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants to keep them hydrated for longer.
• Use an automatic washing machine on full loads only.
• Don’t let the faucet run while cleaning vegetables.

ALSO READ: Pretoria East water outage: Supply restored ahead of schedule

Compiled by Cheryl Kahla; additional reporting by Narissa Subramoney