July riots to blame for water cuts – City of Joburg

Johannesburg MMC for environment and infrastructure services Mpho Moerane has blamed the water cuts that have been experienced in parts of the city on a number of factors, including the recent unrest in the province.

The city has experienced water shortages over the past three weeks which left residents frustrated as they had to find other sources or walk long distances to get supply.

Areas such as South Hills, Linmeyer, Risana, Tulisa Park, parts of Oakdene and parts of Rosettenville Ext, Klipfontein View in Midrand were the most severely affected.

In his statement released yesterday, Moerane said: “The continuous water supply interruptions are a result of a combination of factors, including supply chain, which has been hugely impacted by the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions as well as the recent uprisings in the country, which affected movement of infrastructure such as valves and pipes with trucks.”

Moerane said the recent explosion at Rand Water’s Palmiet Booster Pumping Station, which feeds its Meyers Hill Reservoir, impacted supply from Johannesburg Water’s South Hills Tower and therefore affected the southern parts of the city.

“The supply challenges were further compounded by a power failure at the Zuikerbosh purification works, again, negatively impacting the Palmiet Booster Pumping Station – and in turn intermittent supply to the southern suburbs in the City.

“The South Hills Reservoir was below the threshold at which Johannesburg Water could pump into the Tower. As a result, the South Hills Tower area was without water to supply. Areas affected included Linmeyer, South Hills, Risana, The Hill and surrounding areas,” he said.

Some of the residents who spoke to Sowetan said they have had to hire bakkies, spending R400 a week to fetch water in other neighbourhoods.

Water cuts took place in other Ekurhuleni and Tshwane over the past three weeks.

Rand Water which supplies these metros announced that it has issued a 20% water restrictions to Gauteng municipalities as demand was outstripping supply.

The company blamed high water usage in households and businesses, together with ageing municipal infrastructure including leaking water pipes as the cause for the problems.