WATCH | Joburg water crisis: Six things that mayor Dada Morero had to say

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero says the city is working on the challenges plaguing residents who have not had water for weeks.

Morero held a press briefing on Wednesday which coincided with protests in Melville and Parktown West, where residents have not had water for more than 20 days. Some have had to dig into their pockets to buy water.

Here are six things you need to know from the mayor’s briefing:

• Since the January 26 leak at Rand Water’s Klipfontein reservoir which affected Midrand, there has been slow recovery in Johannesburg and most reservoirs have begun to fill.
• The Irang reservoir and tower remain critically low at about 2%. Brixton reservoir will be online and is expected to be fully operational by the end of February, adding about 37-million litres of storage.
• The area around Randburg and Roodepoort remains stable with no major water challenges apart from the Constantia Tower reservoir at 32%, which is being brought up to acceptable levels. Rosettenville, Honeydew, and Cosmo Central are also comfortable.
• However, Evaton, Crown Gardens, Eagles Nest, Chawela, Jabulani, Meadowlands and Power Cup tower are adversely affected.
• To reduce reliance on outsourced tankers, the city has contracted three service providers and purchased 20 municipal water trucks. Morero said most have been delivered and four are due by the end of March. The city plans to buy 20 more.
• To address long-term constraints, the city has begun a 10-year infrastructure investment of about R32bn, now in year one, prioritising pipeline replacements and system upgrades.

Sowetan