Joburg Water and Rand Water explain water outages in areas supplied by Hursthill Reservoir
Rand Water and Joburg Water are looking at short and medium term solutions to the issue, though they have long-term solutions in place to supply high-lying areas.
Rand Water together with Johannesburg Water have issued a statement concerning the water cuts affecting residents supplied by the Hursthill Reservoir.
According to the entities, on 18 May, Rand Water undertook at pre-isolation shutdown of Eikenhof Pumping Station to prepare for the replacement of the G34/Q2 isolation valve. During this shutdown, the Vereeniging Water Treatment Plant experienced a power failure affecting supply to the Hursthill system.
“The Hursthill system has following the shutdown and restoration, battled to recover to acceptable reservoir levels,” said the statement.
The system supplies high lying areas that have historically been vulnerable to fluctuating bulk water supply during high demand seasons.
In addition, over the past years, the bulk supply system has been under severe pressure due to increased water demand.
“Rand Water has, from time to time, made operational adjustments to divert water from other areas as a short-term measure to help sustain the Hursthill system after bulk supply interruption; however, this has yielded no significant results of late,” said the statement.
Rand Water and Joburg Water say that their technical teams have been investigating this issue over the past few weeks with the view to find other options to optimise the integrated supply systems.
“This joint effort resulted in adjustments being made to the distribution system but unfortunately, before any gains could be realised, the Eikenhof Pump Station experienced power failures further affecting the system.”
The entities say that they are looking at short and medium term interventions to address the current challenges.
They say that long-term solutions have already been formulated regarding the issue. These include the construction of Station 5A by Rand Water and Johannesburg Water is finalising designs of their booster station to the Hursthill Reservoir.
“Once these projects are completed, there will be enough supply to the high lying areas of Hursthill.”
The entities say they remain committed to resolving the challenges.
They are supplying water tankers to the areas most affected including Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph Hospitals.
Related articles:
Rand Water’s distribution network currently under severe pressure
https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/259722/emergency-water-shutdown-affect-morningside-surrounding-areas/
