Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

2-minute read
11 July 2023 | 19:00 CAT

Image: South African

Johannesburg residents are scrambling to fill bottles and gear up for Rand Water’s planned 58-hour shutdown, which will start this evening and end on Friday morning; the water outage may last a little longer in some areas as water will be “slowly” released after maintenance. All direct feeds from Rand Water will be affected during the shutdown, impacting the Roodepoort, Central and Soweto areas.

For more on the impact of the outage, Radio Islam International spoke to Johannesburg’s environment and infrastructure services mayoral committee member, Jack Sekwaila, who cautioned residents who were heating their homes during the cold snap to be careful.

He said the water shutdown could affect the ability of firefighters to intervene if a fire broke out.

“I have spoken to fire departments. Firefighters must ensure their water tankers are full before the shutdown because they won’t be able to fill up for the next few days.”

The utility announced that numerous valves at the Vereeniging Water Treatment Plant, Eikenhof Booster Pumping Station, and Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Plant will be replaced as part of the planned maintenance. The Lethabo Pumping Station’s electrical boards will be repaired as the project’s final step.

Rand Water will cut supply to several feeder reservoirs, affecting scores of suburbs across Johannesburg this evening.

“It is estimated that full recovery of the systems may take approximately five days or longer after the supply has been fully restored,” Johannesburg Water said.

High-lying areas would get water after low-lying areas because water needs pressure to reach those taps.

Roaming water tankers are expected to be provided to the affected areas, and alternative water supply will be arranged at hospitals, clinics, schools, municipal offices, police stations, and shopping centres, the water utility said.

Listen to the full interview on Your World Today with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.