House gutted as water supply is throttled in Centurion
Image: iStock
A city-imposed water shortage forced residents to use buckets of water to try‚ in vain‚ to extinguish a fire that gutted a home in Centurion.
Unbeknown to the residents of Mnandi‚ an agricultural area‚ their water supply had been shut down to allow a local reservoir to recover‚ following high water consumption in the area‚ when the fire started around 8pm on Sunday.
Tracy Kensey told TimesLIVE that neighbours had rushed to help fight the fierce blaze.
“We had to get into the pool and take water with buckets in order to fight the fire. The fire department arrived and went to four to five different hydrants but there was no pressure so they could not fight the fire. They eventually got water from Stoneridge, which is outside the Mnandi area. The whole house burnt down‚” said Kensey.
She said the neighbourhood had lost its water supply on Friday without warning from the City of Tshwane.
“When people called the call centre, nobody could tell us the real reason why we don’t have water. The call-centre agents said to us there are leakages down the road.”
It was only when the local councillor‚ Kingsley Wakelin‚ called a member of the mayoral committee in the city that residents heard the pressure had been reduced due to high demand.
Kensey said the neighbourhood was left without water as it was in an elevated area.
“We still don’t have water‚ even today. Our area is an agricultural suburb. There are animals in this area. Some people are managing because they have boreholes‚ but for the rest of us we are really struggling. Our reservoir has been reduced to 13.5%, according to Kingsley‚” she said.
The City of Tshwane released a statement on Monday that read: “Residents of Mnandi in Region 4‚ south of Tshwane‚ are currently experiencing a water supply interruption due to the low water level at the Mnandi reservoir, which is currently sitting at 13.5%.
“The City of Tshwane has in the meantime arranged for a water tanker that will be stationed at 202 Lochner Road‚ Mnandi AH. Residents staying in high-lying areas‚ who are mostly affected‚ will be supplied with water through the tanker.”
The city said it had shut down the supply of water to allow a reservoir to recover after high demand. “Last week‚ the Tshwane metropolitan municipality pleaded with its residents and the business community to be serious-minded about conserving water‚” said the city.
It added that an announcement from Rand Water warned that the abstraction of water from the Vaal Dam was exceeding the allowable licence limit as determined by the national Department of Water and Sanitation.
Rand Water began on Monday‚ January 15‚ to limit the areas it supplies (which are municipalities) in order to stay within the permissible existing water abstraction limits.
“The restrictions are applicable throughout the city and are done to safeguard as well as ensure there is a continued control and supply of water to all residents‚” the city said.
- TimesLIVE