Large areas of Johannesburg without water

An emergency water shutdown is in place in large parts of Johannesburg and several areas will be without water until Friday morning‚ Joburg Water spokesperson Isaac Dhludhlu said on Thursday.

Dhludhlu said the shutdown was due to a massive steel pipe on the corner of Joe Slovo and Abel streets having to be replaced‚ which could no longer be postponed.

“A massive 600mm pipe had to be cut into two parts and replaced with a new one‚” he told TimesLIVE.

In some parts of the city‚ water was cut off since Wednesday evening. Joburg Water said the shutdown was no surprise as it had communicated with residents and all stakeholders involved earlier this week.

“Our technical team is busy with the job. Welding is taking longer because the pipe must be strong enough to sustain the water pressure‚ so it does not need to be fixed again‚” he said. The utility indicated that the operation had started on Wednesday and was likely to be finished after midnight on Thursday or in the early hours of Friday.

“Residents can rest assured that they will have water tomorrow morning when they wake up.”

Dhludhlu said a total of nine truck tankers had been placed in different areas and four trucks were roaming around to provide residents with water. Affected areas include the following: New Doornfontein, Troyville,Kensington, Fairview, Reynolds view, Jeppestown, Malvern, Bruma, Bezuidenhout Valley, Dewetshof, Yeoville, Berea, Highlands, Bellevue, Observatory, Cyrildene, Parktown, Braamfontein, Forest Town and Westcliff.