The water crisis in Johannesburg seems to be expanding to other areas such as Soweto and Roodepoort. Johannesburg Water has issued a warning to residents to use water sparingly.
The City of Joburg’s newly-appointed mayor Dada Morero visited several reservoirs and the Helen Joseph Hospital to assess the situation.
Johannesburg Water spokesperson Puleng Mopeli says, “Under Stage 2, Naturena, Alan Manor, Glenvista, and Alexandra reservoirs are at low levels. Honeydew and Helderkruin reservoirs are critically low. Pumps at Helderkruin tower are isolated due to low reservoir levels. Residents are reminded that Stage 2 water restrictions must be adhered to and we advise residents to use water sparingly during this time.”
Taps run dry in Joburg amid Stage 2 water restrictions:
Gauteng residents say their daily lives are being disrupted as a result of load shedding coupled with water restrictions.
Many communities in Gauteng have battled with water cuts for months now.
Several areas in Gauteng will experience water cuts indefinitely. Over the last two weeks, water consumption increased significantly, resulting in a decline in the overall reservoir storage capacity from 52% to 38%.
Joburg Water says these restrictions are to ensure that the storage capacity is restored to 60%.
Joburg Water spokesperson, Puleng Mopeli says, “The City of Johannesburg was notified by Rand Water, the bulk supplier, of the implementation of Stage 2 water restrictions. Due to the increased water demand, the capacity of Rand Water storage has decreased from 52% to 38%. The bulk supply will restrict high-demand customer metres in various parts of Johannesburg. The outcome is to reduce the current high consumption and restore the capacity back to 60%. Rand Water will implement Stage 2 water restrictions on their Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes and Palmiet pump stations.”
Westdene has been one of the worst-affected areas in Johannesburg.
Residents have not had a decent supply of water for more than two weeks. They have been unable to shower and do laundry. Many homes are unable to afford bottled water for drinking purposes.
“It’s been on and off for the last two weeks. The last five days have been the worst of it. We can only access water at night. It comes through as a slow trickle, but you have to stay up late, maybe until 12 at night. We are flushing the toilet with swimming pool water and bottled water. Right now, we don’t have water, our buckets are empty, and we don’t know what to do. There is a heatwave right now and we don’t know how we will manage. We need water as soon as possible,”
Westdene is not the only area in Gauteng affected by water outages in recent months.
Hospitals in Gauteng are having to deal with no electricity and no water.
Gauteng hospitals run dry:
