A meeting was held on October 17 between Joburg Water and the Ministry of Water and Sanitation to ‘devise a firm course of action to bring about sustainable solutions to water supply challenges in Gauteng’, according to Joburg Water spokesperson Puleng Mopeli.
This follows a media release published on October 16 from Mopeli explaining how Rand Water’s load-shifting (moving of water) from Eikenhof to the Palmiet system effectively crashed the entire system.
Rand Water in turn has been implementing controlled water flow to various municipalities as it tries to safeguard the integrity of the system to ensure continued water supplies. According to Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo, this was difficult because ‘water consumption continues to rise and reservoir levels continue to decrease.’
Meanwhile, the City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero recently met with Joburg Water senior management and the newly appointed board of the Rahima Moosa hospital where it was confirmed that water tankers would continue to be deployed there. Joburg Water, however, stressed that this hospital and Helen Joseph have an adequate supply.
Overnight, Joburg Water’s Brixton and Hursthill 2 reservoirs were left without capacity leaving thousands of residents without water. Mobile tankers were dispatched to assist impacted residents.
Joburg Water announced that Rand Water’s Vereeniging purification works was hit with a power outage which affected the water supply at the Eikenhof pump. This in turn reduced supply at the Commando Road meter and Rand Water direct feeds.
This affected Crosby, Brixton, Hursthill, Honeydew and Linden water towers, and Riverlea Ext 2, with Rand Water direct feeds impacting Cornelius Street, Weltervreden High pressure and bypass and Honeydew reservoir.
The areas where appeals are for the greatest reduction in water usage are: Montgomery Park, Westbury, Hursthill, Greymont, Coronationville, Newlands, Northcliff, Newclare, Auckland Park, Albertville, Newlands, Melville, Richmond, Parkview, Emmarentia and Greenside.
Stage 2 water restrictions remain in place this week and residents are reminded that the following are prohibited:
- Watering gardens with a hosepipe or irrigation system
- Cleaning driveways and patios with a hosepipe
- Washing vehicles with a hosepipe and
- Filling or topping up swimming pools and water features.
Updates will be posted as soon as they are available.
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