Joburg residents fear not, Rand Water maintenance is not an emergency

Johannesburg Water (JW) held a press conference to explain and allay fears of a looming water outage as the bulk supplier, Rand Water, carries out planned maintenance to its network.

Acting chief operating officer JW, William Chitsa says plans have been put in place to mitigate against the reduced water supply from June 24 to July 12.

“This is not a water shutdown and will not affect all areas of the city. We hope to instil calm for any residents who are fearing the worst.”

General manager for operations Logan Munsamy reiterated the sentiment. “Rand Water is conducting necessary maintenance on its infrastructure which will see water supply drop but not stop. Our two networks are interlinked, hence the impact in the city.”

During this time, ward councillors will be in contact with the water entities to ensure communities are kept abreast of developments and feedback on the work carried out.

There are three jobs being carried out:

• Eikenhoff system: New connections at Waterval reservoirs 1 and 2.
  When: June 24 at 19:00 to June 27 at 19:00 (72 hours)
  Impact: Pumping will be reduced to 50% for eight hours and 67% for the remaining time.
• Eikenhoff system: Clearing the sediment tank at the Vereeniging plant.
  When: June 24 at 19:00 to 12 July at 19:00 (18 days)
  Impact: Pumping reduced to 83% for the duration.
• Zwartkoppies system: Replacement of a defective valve.
  When: 24 June at 19:00 to 25 June at 22:00
  Impact: No pumping at Daleside for four hours. Zwartkoppies pumping will be reduced to 50%.In all affected areas stationary tankers (JoJo tanks) will be placed in areas of need and roaming water tankers will be in circulation and able to move around as needed.

  

  A total of 85 water trucks will be in use and 250 JoJo tanks will be utilised.

  The JoJo tanks will focus on the following areas:

• Hospitals and clinics
• Old age homes
• Schools
• Police stations

Areas where ward councillors highlight as a problematic area.

JW requests that residents who can, “Store up a reasonable quantity of water before the weekend to meet essential or critical needs.”

The water entity will use the weekend to ensure reservoirs and other bulk storage facilities are filled in a bid to lessen the impact of the reduced supply from Rand Water. “The weekend is our time to prepare.”

As much as maintenance is inconvenient to residents, the long-term benefits are an improved and more efficient system.

Asked why Rand Water has chosen this period to carry out the work, “The winter months are a time of reduced consumption, so it is an ideal time to do maintenance.”

Johannesburg has 95 reservoirs and 34 water towers.

Which areas will be affected?

All areas will have stationary tankers deployed (JoJo tanks) and roaming tanker trucks to provide relief to residents.

• Eikenhoff areas: Randburg, Roodepoort, Soweto, Johannesburg Central, Brixton, Hursthill and Crosby. (June 27 to July 12)
• Zwartkoppies areas: Berea, Parktown, Hector Norris, Forest Hill, Eagles Nest, Alan Manor, Naturena, Crown Gardens, Aeroton and Orlando West. (June 24 – 25)
• Daleside areas: Orange Farm, Lawley and Ennerdale. (June 24 – 25)
• Palmiet areas: Midrand, Sandton, South Hills, Alexander Park and Randjeslaagte. (July 1 to July 29)

The city has reassured residents that water quality will not drop during this time, whether water is drawn from a tap, JoJo tank or water tanker.