Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni face water shortages due to Rand Water maintenance

The cities of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni have again been hit with water shortages due to Rand Water’s ongoing maintenance of its infrastructure.

Several parts of the municipalities will be without water for the next few days, according to the entity’s schedules.

The interruptions are expected to continue until Wednesday, according to the entity and both municipalities have promised to make water tankers available during the period of maintenance.

Residents have been warned that water will take time to recover after the work is concluded. 

Councillors across Joburg have undertaken that water will be available at 50% capacity.

However, water from Eikenhof will not reach the Commando system, which as a result, will lead to areas it supplies not having any water for the full duration of the maintenance period. Johannesburg Water has also indicated that certain reservoirs might be closed earlier to retain capacity ahead of the planned shutdown.

“It is also important to note that there will be no water available during the recovery period, consistent with previous shutdowns.

"As has previously been the case, recovery may take five to 14 days after maintenance has concluded, depending on how quickly the system can stabilise.

"While other systems begin to recover, Johannesburg Water will throttle them in phases to prioritise the recovery of the Commando System.

"While we remain hopeful for a faster recovery, we urge residents to prepare for a longer recovery period,” reads the message from councillors.

Requests for water tankers have already been submitted to Johannesburg Water and serious concerns have also been raised regarding the delayed or non-existent deployment of tankers during previous shutdowns.

Johannesburg Water has assured residents that they intend to improve on the provision of water tankers.

Rand Water reiterated that low-lying areas will recover first while high-lying areas can expect delays.

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