Associate Professor and Water Management Expert at the University of South Africa, Anja du Plessis says the water problems in Johannesburg cannot only be blamed on load shedding (rolling blackouts) and the recent heat wave.
This comes as certain areas in the city have been hit by severe water shortages since last week, as Johannesburg Water has implemented water shifting.
She says lack of maintenance of the water system is also to blame.
Du Plessis says, “Water shifting is the pumping of available water, within a certain water system, from areas with supply issues to areas experiencing water issues or no pressure, this is obviously an interim measure as proposed by the Minister and selected instead of water shedding, this means the water supply stops. As we we have seen even before the heatwave, especially Brixton, Greenside, Emmarentia etc, which are high lying areas, they haven’t been experiencing no water at all before the heatwave.”
Full interview with Prof Anja du Plessis:
Daily water supply system status updates: Monday, 9 October 2023 (Morning) #JoburgUpdates ^S pic.twitter.com/wskTmp935K
— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) October 9, 2023
