Joburg Water scrambles to fix water problems
Joburg Water technicians attended speedily to the water issues affecting a number of residential areas and resolved them in less than 24 hours.
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – Residents in some parts of the South on November 4 woke to find that there was no running water, after various areas had experienced two power outages in a matter of hours. The first outage was around 18:30 November 3 with the electricity returning at 22:00, and went out again on the early morning of November 4 and only returning at midday.
“It was around 05:00 in the morning when I went to open the bath taps and prepare to go to work, when I realised that we had no water,” explained Zama Mazibuko, who stays in one of the affected areas.
However, the water problem in areas like Ormonde did not last long as the water was back at around 06:30. A day later, the water crisis had moved to other parts of the South.
It was reported by Ward 54 Cllr Sergio Dos Santos on November 4 that areas including The Glen (Oakdene and Eastcliff), Ridgeway proper, Crown
Gardens and Robertsham had complained to him of being without water.
This was just as the country was warned of a looming water crisis days ago on News24, with Gauteng’s water recently being switched off in September, affecting the Linmeyer and South Hills areas. Other areas in the South are also reported by Cllr Dos Santos to be experiencing low water pressure.
Cllr Dos Santos, who was doing his best to resolve the issue and ascertain the causes, believed that the water issue could be due to the water reservoirs not functioning properly because of the recent power failure. His suspicions were confirmed by Joburg Water, whose technicians attended speedily to the water issues affecting a number of residential areas and resolved them in less than 24 hours.
Miss Earth Organisation has stated that water is one of the scarcest natural resources on earth. Statistics reveal that only one per cent of all the water on earth is fit for human consumption and over two billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water.
“It is often said that the next world war will not be fought over oil or land or policy, but it will be fought for access to fresh drinking water. With the number of things threatening this already scarce resource growing every day, Miss Earth South Africa strives to educate its ambassadors and the general public about the importance of keeping our water sources clean.”
According to News24.com in more than half of the country, South Africans are using more water than what’s available. Consumers are already using 98 per cent of available water supply, and 40 per cent of waste water treatment is in a “critical state”.
