Water woes outrage residents as restrictions are implemented

Last week the City of Johannesburg implemented Stage 2 water restrictions in parts of the city serviced by Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes and Palmiet pump stations in a bid to stave off further outages.

Rand Water had informed the City that its water supply had shrunk from 52% to 38% and by implementing restrictions it hoped to restore capacity levels to 60%.

“The water network relies on electricity to pump water. Several water systems remain at critically low levels as systems are not recovering due to high water usage coupled with the effects of power outages,” said Johannesburg Water (JW) spokesperson Puleng Mopeli.

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Some residents in Melville had been without water for two weeks with one writing on social media: ‘I’ve slipped into a state of resignation and low-grade depression at the lunacy of all of this. We’re not at war. We haven’t been hit by a hurricane or tornado. The whole thing beggar’s belief. Are they still touting this place as a ‘world-class African city?’

Communities are coming together to find solutions such as the Auckland Park Mosque which has opened its doors to allow residents to come and fill their containers from their borehole water.

Councillor for Ward 87 Bridget Steer said, “It’s a disaster. They had to close the reservoirs yesterday to build capacity after Rand Water reduced supply.”

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Ward 88 residents association member Neil Ferguson said, “The main problem area in the ward is Emmarentia which is fed by the Hursthill reservoir. It is not at sufficient supply to meet demand at the moment which they are trying to remedy but has resulted in intermittent water outages. There is no backup power at reservoirs, like for Northcliff, so when load-shedding occurs it’s a nightmare.”

MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department Michael Sun recently said, “We must keep in mind that Johannesburg’s pipe network is still largely made up of asbestos pipelines. These are ageing and prone to frequent bursts.”
This alone accounts for a high number of service interruptions across the city due to faults, maintenance and upgrades.

Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk said at the end of last week, “The Linden reservoir is just about empty and every night it only fills up to about 1.5m. Some suburbs are struggling, but if it gets worse all these suburbs will be affected: Blairgowrie, Robindale, Robin Hills, Linden and Linden Ext, Darrenwood and Fontainebleau. It is hoped the reservoir will be filled by this past Sunday.”

Residents have been requested to only use water for human and household needs during this crisis with Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph hospitals also affected.

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The restrictions in place ask residents:

• Not to water gardens from 6am to 6pm daily
• Not to fill their swimming pools
• Not to use hosepipes to wash cars, paved areas, etc.
• Not to leave taps dripping
• Only take shallow baths, and
• Use bathwater or grey water to water the garden.

A half-filled bath uses about 113 litres of water versus a five-minute shower which only uses around 56 litres. (Source: Joburg Water)

This is a developing story.

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