#RandWaterShutdown: Live updates on the Rand Water outage

It is no exaggeration to say the Rand Water shutdown has been met with panic and frustration in equal measure.

The shutdown commenced at 19:00 on July 11 and Rand Water is expected to reconnect the water network at 05:00 on July 14. However, as of July 13, Joburg Water has said the supply in some areas may take up to 10 days to return to normal.

Update, July 14: 12:16

Water update

Rand Water have just announced that the work at the Eikenhof pumping station has been completed.

🚨WATER UPDATE🚨
We wish to report that the work at Eikenhof pumping station has been completed.#RandWater #PlannedMaintenance #A19Pipeline #B14Pipeline #RW120YearsofExcellence #WaterSustainability [NS]

— Rand Water (@Rand_Water) July 14, 2023

Media statement

• The repairs that were conducted during the planned Rand Water shutdown, from Tuesday, 11 July at 19:00, to Friday morning at 05:00, have been completed and Johannesburg Water systems are gradually recovering.

Here are some of the challenges that Johannesburg Water encountered with the water shutdown:

• The Zwartkopjes repairs, which were supposed to take 24 hours, were only completed at 01:00 on Thursday, 13 July, as opposed to 19:00 on Wednesday, 12 July.
• There was no continuous pumping of the 24% of water at the Eikenhof Booster Station that was supposed to take place throughout the shutdown. There was no pumping on Wednesday night, resulting in Soweto and Lenasia systems being critically low to empty. By Thursday, the Eikenhof system was empty.
• The entity did not get the 300 megalitres of extra water pumping into Johannesburg Water systems as promised by the bulk supplier.

Although work has been completed, Johannesburg Water customers are reminded that full recovery will take five to 14 days.

Sandton residents have their say on the ongoing water shutdown

With the ongoing Rand Water shutdown, Sandton Chronicle took to its streets to ask residents how they feel about the ongoing water issue and if they think what Rand Water is doing is necessary.

Pumping resumes at Zwartkopjes system 

• The Rand Water shutdown is scheduled to end on Friday, 14 July at 05:00, having begun on Tuesday, 11 July at 19:00.
• Full recovery of the affected Johannesburg Water systems will take five to 14 days
• “Customers are further notified that, since the reservoirs have run empty in some areas, the recovery of high-lying areas can take
  several days to be fully restored,” confirmed Rand Water.
• Johannesburg Water continues to prioritise critical areas such as hospitals, clinics, and old age homes by providing alternative water supply.
• As at Thursday afternoon, the entity had deployed an additional 111 stationary tanks and 54 additional water trucks to service residents during the shutdown

Read more: Joburg north suburbs affected by 54-hour water outage

The purpose of the planned shutdown is to complete a tie-in between the A19 and B14 with a new pipeline, installation of isolation valves, and systems upgrades at Rand Water’s Eikenhof pump station.

#JoburgUpdates Daily water supply system status updates: Thursday, 13 July 2023 (Morning) ^N pic.twitter.com/8ElLNJ7i84

— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) July 13, 2023

𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 |@JHBWater has provided an additional 149 stationary tanks and 65 water trucks to mitigate the water shortage due to the Rand Water shutdown.#RandWaterShutdown #WaterShutdown #Sandton pic.twitter.com/hiRXQEIDHE

— Sandton Chronicle (@Sandton_News) July 12, 2023

But is Sandton badly affected?

#JoburgUpdates
MEDIA STATEMENT
Johannesburg Water urges residents to allow water tankers access to communities ^P pic.twitter.com/8s9MV0scy1

— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) July 13, 2023

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