Gauteng residents bemoan extended water cuts

Gauteng residents say they feel let down by those in power as water cuts are expected to continue until further notice.

On Friday, Rand Water announced that it was implementing level 1 water shedding to try to keep up with the growing demand.

Gauteng metros affected

These restrictions will leave certain areas without water for up to 10 hours. This will affect all Gauteng metros and smaller municipalities.

Johannesburg residents, City of Tshwane and the people of Ekurhuleni should brace themselves for continuing water shortages. The bulk water supply company says water shedding will last between 1-10 hours. This will also affect the Rustenburg municipality in the North West.

Parts of Gauteng left without water

Gauteng residents not happy about this.

“Water shedding is a problem because if you do not have water you cannot cook you cannot use the bathroom. So I think the government is not doing enough… It’s tough now; no water no electricity, no network. You can’t even make a phone call. But of all these water is an essential… All I can say is, the situation at the moment is very bad. The city is failing to provide us with a good service.” Joburg residents cry.

Rand water says since the beginning of spring, the demand for water in Municipalities per day has grown from 4 300-million to 4 900million litres per day.

Rand Water’s Spokesperson, Makenosi Maroo elaborates, “Last week we implemented stage 2 restrictions. However the restrictions have not yielded the desired outcomes. As a result we are now applying the flow management system. This measure will ensure that rand water takes full control of water supply, which means we no longer rely on consumers to reduce water consumption.”

Rand Water says the current water demand amounts to a daily usage of water per person per day to 300 litres. This is almost double the world’s average litres per person per day of 173 litres. Residents have been advised to use water sparingly.

Reduce water consumption

Maroo adds, “To avoid intermittent water supply, we are urging our consumers to reduce their water consumption. We also recommend that municipalities impose water restrictions. We further request our end users to stop using sprinkler systems and we also encourage people not to use hose pipes to wash their cars.”

Rand Water implements stage 2 water restrictions in Johannesburg and Tshwane due to growing demand

Water cuts will continue until further notice.