Residents fed up with on-off water supply to Thatchfield Ridge

Residents are fed up with the on-off water supply to Thatchfield Ridge in Centurion.

Last week, they took to the streets and blocked roads, demanding water be restored in the area.

Tshwane’s water challenges

The water interruption followed Rand Water’s scheduled maintenance on their system linked to the Kosmosdal meter.

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Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo didn’t say why there was little to no water pressure in the area.

Councillor Tembeni Thabatha said some areas had struggled for almost three weeks without water. “I have been requesting the city to supply water tankers to relieve these people. It is not a new problem, especially in Thatchfield,” he said.

Residents struggling to cook, clean houses

Thabatha said he received many complaints from residents about the lack of water.

“They are struggling to cook food and clean their houses. It’s very bad,” he said.

Thabatha said this week the country celebrated Human Rights Day while many residents didn’t have access to basic needs such as water.

“Something must be done. The residents cannot continue to struggle like this,” he said.

Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said the city was aware of the lack of water pressure.

“The area is supplied with water from the Kosmosdal meter, which gets water from Rand Water,” he said.

Bokaba said although Rand Water managed to complete the repairs from vandalism speedily, the system remained adversely affected.

“Rand Water recently completed scheduled maintenance work on their system linked to the Kosmosdal meter.

“While Rand Water was busy with their maintenance work, infrastructure was vandalised elsewhere on the same system that supplies the Kosmosdal meter,” he explained.

Bokaba said the normal operating pressure for the Kosmosdal system was 130 bars.

“Since the completion of the maintenance, the city has been struggling to obtain sufficient pressure at the Kosmosdal meter to supply the high-lying area within the Kosmosdal distribution zone.

“The average pressure recorded is 9.5 bars. Thatchfield Ridge is situated at the highest point in the distribution zone and was therefore affected. The low-lying areas in the distribution zone are not affected,” he said.

Bokaba said both Rand Water and the city were struggling to identify the cause of the slight drop in pressure within the system.

Outdated infrastructure

Maskam Water marketing officer Annalize Nieuwoudt said the investigation would show the infrastructure was outdated.

“The problem is that there is no money to fix it permanently. So they’re just going to stick plasters on a half-off leg,” she said.

Nieuwoudt said the private sector has given up on sorting out municipal issues, instead focusing on alternatives.

Aquaffection water treatment company managing director Gerrie Brink said the only way to sort out the water woes was by reducing the water demand.

“That goes for businesses and individuals. Rand Water cannot supply more. Reservoirs only have so much capacity. It’s not an unlimited source of supply. The reservoir must be kept full like a battery. If you don’t charge it, it runs empty.”

– marizkac@citizen.co.za

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