Parts of Joburg will stay dry as Rand Water continues five-week upgrades

Taps are expected to remain dry for several days for residents in Johannesburg and the East Rand due to planned maintenance by Rand Water which has drastically reduced water reservoir levels.

Rand Water is conducting maintenance and upgrading of pipelines to improve the water supply system. The work is expected to continue for five weeks until July 29.

This has affected Johannesburg and parts of Ekurhuleni as various suburbs have had water interruptions or complete water outages since the upgrades started on Saturday.

Ward 99 DA councillor Nicole van Dyk said the Waterval water plant, which was being upgraded on Tuesday, was the site that caused many water outages in the Randburg area in March.

“Thankfully [on Tuesday], everyone is aware that it is closed and work is being done to get both systems up and running, which should help capacity pumping into Johannesburg.

“The Linden water system has zero water and the other two towers are at 20% and 17% respectively. We anticipate that this is going to drop even faster [on Tuesday] as there is no water pumped from Rand Water to the Linden system,” she said.

She said residents would hopefully receive water by the weekend and that the city would deploy water tankers in the meantime.

“We will have a meeting to get clarity on the situation across the whole city. This maintenance is expected to continue right through to the end of July when all the work from Rand Water is completed.

“For ward 99, expect water to drop on Tuesday and no water on Wednesday or Thursday. Hopefully by Friday, if all goes to plan, we will start seeing water going to the systems.”

On Tuesday the City of Ekurhuleni announced that parts of Benoni would be affected between 7pm and 10pm. This included Airfield, Crystal Park, Farrarmere, Morehill, Northmead, Rynfield Agricultural Holdings, Brentwood Park, Ebotsi, Goedeburg, North Villa, Oakfields and Rynfields.

“Residents and businesses in the affected areas are advised to store water for essential and operational needs during the interruption. Any development and updates about the maintenance work will be communicated through the city’s digital platforms,” said the Ekurhuleni municipality.

In Tshwane, no areas will be affected this week. However, the Palmiet system, which is supplied by Rand Water, is expected to be pumping at 76% on Saturday.

This is expected to affect the Akasia, Bakenkop, Blair Atholl, Brakfontein, Erasmia, Kosmosdal, Laudium, Lotus Gardens, Louwiardia, Mabopane, Magaliesberg, Mnandi, Raslouw, Rooihuiskral, Saulsville, Soshanguve DD, Soshanguve L and Sunderland Ridge reservoirs.

The city’s Mapleton System, which is also supplied by Rand Water, will be affected next month, said spokesperson Lindela Mashigo

“On July 5 the Mapleton System will pump at 73% for 14 hours. On July 19 three of the water utility's bulk meters, located at Willow Acres, Kwagga and Nellmapius, will have supply for 12 hours. And on July 26 there will be no pumping at the Mapleton System for three days ... The City of Tshwane will provide water tankers to the affected areas,” said Mashigo.

Rand Water said the maintenance and upgrades will take place in phases at different times in different municipalities. 

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