Water, electricity cuts to hit Gauteng hard this week
A water shortage is growing in Dobsonville, Soweto and other parts of Gauteng. Picture: File Motlabana Monnakgotla
JOBURG Water has confirmed there will be an emergency meeting with Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu to address the water problems in Gauteng.
Yesterday the municipal entity said the meeting is to devise a firm course of action to bring about sustainable solutions to water supply challenges in the province.
The entity said due to Rand Water’s uninterrupted load shifting from Eikenhof to recover the Palmiet system, its Commando system levels have worsened from critically low to empty.
Johannesburg Water spokesperson Puleng Mopeli said customers particularly from the Hursthill reservoirs zone will have no water.
She said both Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa Child and Mother hospitals have adequate supplies.
Water cuts are not new in the province, just two weeks ago, ordinary citizens, businesses and hospitals were hard hit to a point that some relatives had to take water to their loved ones who were admitted.
While hundreds of residents are bracing themselves for the water cuts, Eskom on Sunday confirmed it will continue to implement stage 2 load shedding from today until Wednesday between 4pm and 12am.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the load shedding is required to help manage emergency generation reserves during the evenings.
“Since Saturday afternoon two generation units at Grootvlei as well as a unit each at Kriel and Majuba power stations were returned to service. A generation unit at Lethabo power station was taken offline for repairs. We currently have 5 244MW of planned maintenance, while another 15 612MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns,” Mantshantsha said.
Mopeli said reducing demand remains a key priority.
Affected areas include: Montgomery Park, Westbury, Hursthill, Greymont, Coronationville, Newlands, Northcliff, Newclare, Auckland Park, Albertville, Newlands, Melville, Richmond, Parkview, Emmarentia and Greenside.
“Alternate water supply is being provided to other affected areas through stationary water tanks and mobile tankers. We request customers to report leaks and bursts in the area which may impact on the recovery of the system. Residents are again requested to observe stage 2 Rand Water restrictions and use water sparingly,” Mopeli said
Although the city of Ekurhuleni has not declared water restrictions at this stage, parts of Daveyton and Twatwa were constrained and they were being supported by water tankers yesterday.
Ekurhuleni metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said another area that is experiencing constraints is Tsakani where the city is not receiving sufficient supply from the Rand Water located reservoirs in Brakpan.
“Technicians are switching off pumps and closing outlets at night to build the level of water in the Zulu reservoir at night in order to allow for pumping into the Xhosa reservoir and towers which feed the high-lying areas of Tsakani and Langaville,” Dlamini said.
Dlamini added that the city is prioritising the provision of water to Pholosong hospital, schools, clinics and old age homes in the area.
City of Tshwane Utilities and Regional Operations MMC Daryl Johnston said overnight they saw both the Koedoesnek HL Reservoir as well as the Soshanguve North and South reservoirs recovering well, which has allowed restoring service to the areas.
“While we have so far managed to work together with Rand Water to avoid any extended major outages in the city, I must emphasise the need for residents to continue to take this seriously. Johannesburg Water’s Commando system has crashed and their Hursthill reservoir zone is going to experience no water until it can recover. We are working continuously to try to avoid similar situations in Tshwane and by conserving water we help the entire Rand Water system and our neighbours,” said Johnston.
Water and Sanitation Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said South Africa does not have a water crisis.
He said with the exception of a few areas still battling drought there is no shortage of resources.
“There are a number of issues that affect supply leading to a lack of services. We know the country is experiencing a heatwave at the time when there hasn't been the expected summer rains especially in the inland provinces. This leads to a high rate of evaporation. There is a higher demand due to the need to rehydrate. There is a huge demand for use as people resort to the use of potable water where rains would have watered gardens,” Ratau said.
He said car wash enterprises need to reuse and recycle water.
“Industries, mining and agriculture can also recycle and use new technologies to assist and reduce demand on potable water. There is a need for everyone to reduce demand,” Ratau said.
ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za
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