Rand Water calls for patience as critical maintenance disrupts supply in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and North West

Rand Water has again pleaded with communities across three provinces – Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and the North West – to be patient as the utility undertakes critical maintenance of its infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the bulk water utility’s spokesperson, Makenosi Maroo, said the critical maintenance was affecting several municipalities, including the three metros – Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and other small municipalities such as Rustenburg in the North West and Govan Mbeki in Mpumalanga.

She added that the maintenance was impacting other areas such as Midvaal, Emfuleni, both in Gauteng, as well as Victor Khanye in Mpumalanga.

“That just gives you an indication of how long our pipeline is,” said Maroo.

She said the maintenance has to be undertaken so that Rand Water ensures that its plants are always available so that the entity is able to supply water.

Explaining the decision for maintenance at this time of the year, Maroo said the water demand is quite low in winter.

“The consumption is quite low if we have to compare winter months with spring and summer months, we know that those months are quite busy and consumption is high,” she explained.

Maroo also expressed confidence that by the time of spring and summer, Rand Water will be able to supply water.

She assured residents in affected areas water supply would be restored.

“Different areas are affected at different stages, high-lying areas will always be the last ones to recover, low-lying areas will have to get water first, then move to the high-lying areas,” Maroo said.

Additionally, according to Rand Water, recovery has started and this is a process that requires consumers and residents to be patient.

“We have an agreement with municipalities in different areas to be able to supply water if and when there are struggles with water supply,” promised Maroo.

In Ekurhuleni, on Wednesday some areas were still experiencing water supply interruptions due to the reservoir storage levels that dropped during the Rand Water maintenance.

The municipality warned that although water supply has been restored in many areas, high-lying areas are experiencing a gradual recovery and this may last for a maximum period of about two weeks.

Areas still experiencing water supply interruptions include Kempton Park, Germiston, Daveyton, Tsakani, and KwaThema, which is not an exhaustive list.

Some areas that were affected by the Rand Water maintenance or those closer by may also be experiencing water supply interruptions due to the gradual nature of the recovery of the supply.

The municipality has promised to deploy water tankers to the affected areas.

Other parts of Ekurhuleni experienced low reservoir storage levels and high water demand, and residents were urged to reduce usage to allow reservoirs to accumulate an adequate storage level.

During this period, municipalities asked communities to keep taps closed and refrain from activities that increase water demand, such as watering gardens, using hosepipes for cleaning, and washing vehicles.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za