Little relief for some Joburg residents as water shortages continue

More water shortages are expected in and around Johannesburg due to depleted water supply in four reservoirs, Johannesburg Water said on Saturday.

Affected areas would include Malvern, Benrose, Denver, Wesdene, Coronationville, Winchester Hills Ext 3, Thulisa Park, Rosettenville, Bezuidenhout Valley, Kensington, Risana, South Hills, Quellerina, Waterval, Bergbron, Whiteridge, Robertsham and surrounding areas, spokeswoman Millicent Kabwe said in a statement.

Temporary water tanks had been set up in South Hills, Malvern and Westdene.

"We are in the process of deploying more water tanks to other affected areas."

Kabwe said Rand Water was having problems at their pump stations, which was not feeding into the reservoirs at a normal rate.

"They are working on rectifying the situation and we are expecting the water supply to improve by tomorrow," Kabwe said.

Low water pressure levels may be experienced in Hursthill, Honeydew, Crown Garden, Linden, Brixton, Helderkruin, Horizon, Parktown and Kensington areas, she said.

Earlier, Ekurhuleni municipality said the water supply in parts of the area had been switched off, to allow a reservoir to fill.

The areas affected were Germiston, Benoni, Etwatwa, Daveyton and Tsakane.

The water supply issues were caused by erratic bulk water supply from Rand Water and unprecedented high water demand driven by hot weather and panic storage of water in large quantities.

"Engineers from Ekurhuleni and Rand Water are working around the clock to restore and stabilise the water supply as soon as possible," spokesman Themba Gadebe.

He urged consumers to use water sparingly by avoiding irrigation, washing of cars, using hose pipes and filling of swimming pools.

"The Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality will ensure that roving water tankers are dispatched to all areas experiencing low water pressure and no water in various parts of the region."

Rand Water said on Saturday morning, other parts of Johannesburg had also experienced water shortages.

The situation had started on Monday when a power outage at the Eikenhof pumping station meant water could not be pumped into reservoirs, Rand Water spokesman Justice Mohale said in a statement.

He said it became difficult for the water levels to stabilise during periods of high demand.

"This resulted in Rand Water [being] unable to pump water to some of our reservoirs, supplying mainly western and south of Johannesburg, parts of the West Rand and Ekurhuleni," he said.