Water scarcity reported in parts of Johannesburg and Tshwane

Residents in some parts of Johannesburg and Tshwane are navigating life without water as the country attempts to normalize life without power.

The situation was worsened by a power outage at the Rand Water Eikenhof water pumps station, affecting areas such as Westbury, Winchester Hills, Mondeor, Florida and Parktown, among others.

However, Joburg Water states on Monday that City Power had completed repairs and that water systems were recovering.

On Sunday, some Johannesburg residents woke up to dry taps following a power outage at Eikenhof pump station which falls under bulk water supplier, Rand Water.

The power outage resulted in the reduction of supply to several pump stations affecting 11 towers and several reservoirs in Honeydew, Florida, Linden, Heldekruin and Constantia among others.

Johannesburg Water spokesperson, Puleng Mopeli says the Eikenhof system is in recovery after City Power completed repairs at Eikenhof pump station, and pumping has resumed at full capacity.

Johannesburg Water continues to adequately provide alternative water supply in the interim to assist sensitive customers such as the Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa Mother and Child hospitals through special pumping tankers which have a higher water capacity.

Other sensitive customers such as schools, old-age homes, and higher-lying areas are being provided water through stationary water tanks and mobile tankers. A list of mobile water tanker sites will be provided to customers and can be obtained through social media platforms.

Johannesburg Water pleads with customers to be patient as the Entity works around the clock to bring systems to normality.

As those affected in Ruimsig, and Florida, west of Johannesburg, were happy to see water trickling in. Westbury residents have become accustomed to getting water from the tankers set up to try and bring relief.

“It’s been four months now, it always on and off, In Crosby next to coronation we don’t have water and we are, we don’t know what’s going on, no one is saying what’s going on,” a Resident elaborates.

“We need water, we can’t do anything without water,” another Resident explains.

Their frustrations are also experienced by Tshwane residents in Soshanguve, parts of Pretoria East and Laudium. City of Tshwane Mayor, Randall Williams says they have requested an urgent engagement with Rand Water on prolonged water supply.

“A week ago, I met with the Rand Water Chairperson and CEO where we discussed the supply constraints they are facing in Tshwane. The City of Tshwane is committed to drive water saving and getting our consumption down to prepare for the coming heat wave. Over the last week, we have seen some areas in the city run dry. In responding to this, we throttled some reservoirs and deployed water tankers. However, our initiatives to ensure that we save water to allow our reservoirs to recover will only work if there is a supply being fed to them. In some cases, we have isolated reservoirs in their totality only for them to recover by a very minimal percentage, indicating that their supply is simply inadequate,” says Williams.

Both the City of Tshwane and Johannesburg Water have urged residents to use water sparingly.

VIDEO: Water shortages for Johannesburg, Tshwane