Corrie taps dry for almost 3 days
MMC of Environment and Infrastructure Services, Councillor Nico de Jager said that the water cut-offs were as a result of cable thefts in Region B.
Coronationville residents started complaining about not having water on May 28, and their dry taps lasted for almost three days. The MMC of Environment and Infrastructure Services, councillor Nico de Jager on May 29, told residentsthat the Hursthill reservoir supplying the area west of the double-decker highway was the last of the reservoirs to be filled.
De Jager said, “That reservoir is currently at 15% and we will only open the reservoir once it is at 30%. If we open the reservoir sooner, we run the risk of the reservoir running empty again. This happened as a result of cable theft on the side of Emfuleni. Between Eskom and Emfuleni it took three days to restore the cable fault and Rand Water could not pump from there to fill the reservoirs. We expect to start opening the reservoir by lunchtime today and by this evening reticulation should be fully restored.”
The spate of cable thefts has resulted in residents being inconvenienced and having to rely on water from stationary water tanks being supplied to households in the affected areas. Westdene, Perth Road, Helen Joseph Hospital, Crosby, Foyle Avenue, corner Ingleby Street Crosby Clinic, Coronationville corner Fuel Road and Oudtshoorn Street at Rahima Moosa Hospital, Sophiatown, Edward Street corner Meyer next to KFC in the shopping centre, Parktown, Sansoucci and Napier School, Auckland Park, Bunting and Canary at Netcare Hospital and Parktown, Eton Road next to hospital, were all the places in Region B where the water tanks were dispatched to.
Joshua Myles, a Coronationville resident said that the water pressure started decreasing at about 1 pm on May 28. “The water started coming back at 7 pm or 8 pm on Tuesday (May 29) and it started first from Harmony street,” he said.
Some residents said that they only had water on May 30 when they woke up that morning and while residents’ complained about not having water, the two hospitals in the area had to make alternatives.
The Department of Health communicated that Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital had to make use of neighbouring public health facilities for their emergency cases. Both hospitals had water tanks on their property but they were used for regular services.
“Running water is paramount in infection control and surgical performance. To ensure that healthcare is not compromised, emergency cases have been diverted until this challenge is resolved,” said the health department in a media statement . Since the cables have been restored in Emfuleni, residents and institutions have returned to their regular routines.
