Load-shedding starting to trouble water delivery in parts of Jozi

Concern is starting to grow about the impact of extended electricity load-shedding on water delivery to some high-lying suburbs in Johannesburg.

"So far the only area that has been problematic is the Brixton tower that is supplying Brixton, Auckland Park, Crosby and the surrounding areas," Johannesburg Water spokesperson Isaac Dhludhlu said on Thursday.

This comes after Johannesburg Water tweeted about dropping reservoir and water tower levels.

Dhludhlu said when the water level is at 1.5m, all residents will have running water from taps.

"It’s sufficient to supply while load-shedding is still happening until it reaches about 1m."

Dhludhlu said they will then close reservoirs or towers for them to refill.

"The reservoirs are built in such a way that during load-shedding, if it’s at full capacity, we are still able to supply water … With all the reservoirs that we have, about 89 of them, at any given time we are still able to provide water 99% of the time. It’s only people that are mostly in the high-lying areas that are fed by through the towers that will probably experience no water or low pressure at some stage during load-shedding when the tower runs low."

Contingency plans to ensure the provision of essential services are being drawn up by the City of Johannesburg as it tries to mitigate the crippling impact of rolling blackouts.

City of Ekurhuleni energy head Mark Wilson told eNCA on Tuesday: “If you have stage 3 and 4 [load-shedding], you get your reservoir stations emptying, then you have a water crisis and water shortages in areas."