Joburg water outage: Measures in place to ensure uninterrupted services at health facilities

The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has announced that it has taken steps to ensure that essential services at healthcare facilities are not disrupted during an upcoming water outage.

The contingency measures aim to address the water supply interruptions affecting several healthcare facilities in Johannesburg.

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Rand Water and Joburg Water, the water utility companies, last week informed the public about a planned water shutdown scheduled to take place from 7pm on Tuesday, 11 July, to 5am on Friday, 14 July 2023. The utility companies said that the shutdown was necessary to complete infrastructure improvements, including the installation of a new pipeline, isolation valves, and system upgrades at Rand Water’s Eikenhof pump station.

Facilities affected

It also confirmed that the interruption in water supply would impact the following healthcare facilities:

• Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital,
• Lenasia South Hospital,
• Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital,
• South Rand Hospital,
• Bheki Mlangeni District Hospital,
• Helen Joseph Hospital, and
• various clinics in Johannesburg.

“To ensure continued access to water, the affected hospitals have implemented temporary solutions.

“Tanker trucks have been deployed to supply water to all the hospitals, with Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph having dedicated trucks that will continuously pump water to the facilities’ reservoir and roof tanks, respectively.

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“Helen Joseph Hospital has also installed a high-pressure pump to facilitate water movement to the upper floors. The clinics have their own storage tanks and will receive regular water supply from Joburg Water,” the GDoH said.

Support team

The department also confirmed that it has assembled a team of clinical managers from the affected facilities, along with representatives from Hospital Services, District Health Services, and Infrastructure units.

“This team will be on standby throughout the duration of the water supply interruption to provide support to the affected hospitals and clinics.

“Despite the reduced water pressure in some facilities, healthcare services will continue to be provided,” the department said in a statement.