Gauteng taps to remain dry for now

Water should be restored to all parts of Gauteng within two weeks - as long as there were no power outages, Rand Water said on Saturday.

"Two weeks is a reasonable time for reservoirs to be stabilised," spokesman Justice Mohale said.

"Two weeks should be sufficient if there are no unexpected power outages."

Gauteng has been hit by a water shortage - allegedly due to the theft of electrical cables needed for reservoirs to pump water.

Mohale said Rand Water was doing everything in its power to ensure the water supply was restored to all areas. However, he warned that the two-week deadline could be compromised if there were electricity supply problems.

"If there are power outages; it is going to affected us. If there is no power for an hour; it means we are not pumping," he said.

The company's reservoirs were currently at 40 percent - half of the required capacity to adequately supply water to all 12.3 million people of the province.

"Both the Meyerdale reservoirs and Waterfall reservoirs are at 40 percent but the situation is gradually stabilising," he said.

The Saturday Star reported that the Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane said on Friday that infrastructure quality was a key problem.

"You have to actually appreciate the challenges that have to do with the quality of your infrastructure -- there are huge water demands that go with this," she was quoted as saying.

Mokonyane cautioned against risks that were beyond the government's control, which included climate change.

As Rand Water and [the] government frantically try to restore water supply - residents should brace themselves for "load shifting", she said.

This process would see communities which have been without water getting a supply at fixed intervals until the full water supply returned to normal.

She said that areas not receiving water during the 'shifts' would be provided with water tankers.

Hospitals and clinics would be prioritised, said Mokonyane.