Rand Water's Eikenhof pumping station. (Papi Morake/Garo Images)
JOhannesburg Water said the system is being improved and water will slowly return to the city's taps.
This comes 10 days after the first of three power outages at Rand Water's Eikenhof pumping station that affected water supplies to the city of Johannesburg. Rand Water supplies bulk drinking water to more than 11 million people in Gauteng, as well as Mpumalanga, the Free State and some parts of the North West.
“Most reservoirs affected by the Eikenhof power outage have recovered and are providing near-normal water supply,” Johannesburg Water Authority said. stated in a statement on tuesday. It warned residents that the pressure of water on an empty system could cause pipes to burst and leak.
The report said capacity levels had increased in southern Johannesburg, but demand remained high in the Commando system, which includes reservoirs at Hurst Hill, Crosby, Brixton, Lenasia and Orange Farm.
In the Sandton region, pumping supplies have been affected as a result of the regional power outage, with only Bryanston Tower experiencing significant water level declines, while Kensington B Tower and Linden 2 Reservoir have shown improvement.
“Increase in supply from bulk suppliers” [Rand Water] “We assisted in the restoration of two systems,” Johannesburg Water said. to add Linden 1 and Blairgowrie reservoirs continue to struggle due to low incoming supply pressure and supply.
Johannesburg Water Board announced on Sunday night that it had reached an agreement with Rand Water to supply an additional 100 megalitres to supply the struggling system, easing the burden on people living in the greater Randburg area. He said the purpose was to do so.
Eikenhof pumps 1.2 billion liters of water per day, of which 600 million liters is supplied to Johannesburg through the Meredale, Weltevreden, Watervall and Krugersdorp reservoirs. From there, water is pumped to Johannesburg, Randwest, Mogale City, Rustenburg, Melafon, and several mines.
The water supplied to Johannesburg is pumped to reservoirs in Soweto, Roodepoort, Hursthill, Crosby and Brixton, before flowing into towers and then into homes and businesses.
Johannesburg City Manager Floyd Brink said in a media briefing that the city council had dispatched 25 to 35 water tankers across the city to assist residents during the water crisis.stop water tanker Located in Melville, Randburg and Coronationville.
Johannesburg Water said it would add further locations as more tankers become available.
Residents in northern Johannesburg are frustrated by inconsistent water tanker schedules.
“Previous interventions have been futile. To make matters worse, there is no schedule for the location of water tankers,” 102nd Ward Councilwoman Lara Ann Davids Green said in a post. X.
Civil society group Watercan has accused Rand Water and its subsidiaries of failing to address Johannesburg's water supply crisis.
“We cannot stand by and watch our communities face the threat of water scarcity. We must come together to demand accountability and find sustainable solutions,” WaterCAN Executive Manager Ferial Adam said in a statement. It is essential that we work towards this.”
The latest water crisis comes after the Water Commission announced annual rate increases in February.
Rand Water's rate document provides a base increase to local authorities of 4.9%, with a further 1% planned increase to create a Water Demand Management Fund.
The increase will take the price from about R12.68 to about R13.43 per litre, plus VAT, and is expected to come into effect on July 1, the start of the city's financial year.
Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda told councilors at a Johannesburg Water Board press conference on Monday that the water crisis had spread to national government.
