Joburg Water deploys 18 tankers to suburbs amid severe water shortage crisis
Johannesburg - Johannesburg Water has deployed 18 water tankers to supply areas that have been heavily impacted by a water shortage around the city, after their systems were severely affected by a pump failure at Rand Water’s Eikenhof pump station earlier this week.
Residents in the south of Johannesburg have been without water for over 10 days as a result of the heatwave and malfunction of Rand Water pumps due to the high levels of load shedding, according to Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu.
In a statement, Johannesburg Water said on Thursday that Rand Water had managed to repair an air valve that was vandalised on Wednesday.
“As a result, pumping at the Yeoville reservoir resumed just before 8am on Thursday and by mid-morning, the water levels were sitting at 5.73m.
“The reservoir currently has two pumps operating and water supply to high-lying areas should start improving by the afternoon,” reads part of the statement issued by the Joburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala.
The utility also confirmed that Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital water levels were full, while the Helen Joseph Hospital system was at 75% and the water flow into the hospital remained strong.
Most of the entity’s systems, such as Eagles Nest, Alan Manor and Naturena, were showing steady improvement, while the Commando system (which comprises the Brixton, Crosby, and Hursthill reservoirs and towers) remained the same as it was on Wednesday.
However, the Hursthill 2 and the Brixton reservoirs were still critical.
“The reservoirs are critical because the Weltevredenpark reservoir is recovering – it is currently 62.35% full. This will help sustain water levels at the Waterval 2 reservoir, which feeds into the Commando system. If there are no unplanned interruptions to the system overnight, then there should be improved water levels by Friday,” said Shabalala.
The entity further reported that the Honeydew and Boschkop reservoirs were performing better than they were on Wednesday, with both systems sitting at 0.42m and 1.57m respectively.
As the Weltevredenpark reservoir improves, then the two systems will also improve.
“Furthermore, the Cosmo City reservoir inlet was closed overnight and opened at 7.30am on Thursday morning to assist Honeydew and Boschkop,” they said. The reservoir was sitting at 2.02m on Thursday.
Ten mobile water trucks had been provided for the Honeydew and Boschkop areas.
“The Crown Gardens reservoir is currently sitting at 0.92m, tower 1 is at 2.01m, and tower 2 is at 1.81m, making the levels critical at this stage,” Shabalala said.
Inflow suddenly stopped on Wednesday afternoon and technicians were investigating the reasons for this. Alternative water supply would be provided in the meantime.
“Johannesburg Water technical teams continue to monitor the system and further updates will be provided to customers,” said Shabalala.
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