Water problems resolved at two Johannesburg hospitals

Water problems at the Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph hospitals in Johannesburg have been resolved and the water pressure has improved, Gauteng health department spokesperson Kwara Kekana said.

This after plumbing teams were sent to both hospitals, which have been plagued by water disruptions since Thursday.

“The facilities are now back to normal water supply and water trucks are available as back up,” Kekana said.

She said Joburg Water had been supplying the hospitals with water since the problems started on Thursday last week.

The Gauteng health department said on Friday teams from the infrastructure department were working round the clock to fix the problems. Helen Joseph Hospital still had enough water in its reservoir, with Johannesburg Water using its trucks to replenish it.

Kekana said water trucks will continue to deliver water until the situation has been resolved.

“The water challenge at Rahima Moosa Hospital is receiving urgent attention from local authorities. The hospital is diverting some of its services to nearby facilities.

“We ask for patience and understanding while these challenges are being attended to,” she said. She said the Gauteng department of infrastructure development’s plumbers were on site, fixing the lines to enhance supply to various areas of the facility.

“We ask for patience and understanding while these challenges are being attended to,” she said.

A nurse at Rahima Moosa who didn’t want to be named as she is not allowed to talk to the media told TimesLIVE that some pregnant women were still being referred to other hospitals even though the water problem has been rectified.

“Friday was problematic as our reservoirs were running low and the trucks were a little slow in filling them up. However, we managed to work right through the weekend without problems,” she said.

An unplanned power outage at City Power’s Orlando substation, which left several areas in the south of Johannesburg without power since Wednesday last week, caused the problem.

Rand Water said in a statement that this consequently lead to Rand Water’s Eikenhof Pump Station being unable to operate. Rand Water’s reservoirs that receive their water from Eikenhof are now at significantly reduced levels, said Rand Water.

The power problems which affected the Eikenhof Pump Station left several areas in Johannesburg, Mogale City, Merafong City, Westonaria and Rustenburg without water.

Four days ago, the tragic death of a Davidsonville man prompted Johannesburg MMC for environment and infrastructure services, Mpho Moerane, to send a warning to those using illegal electricity connections.

Thousands of Johannesburg residents have been without water for about a week after a major disruption which left taps dry. Several areas were affected including hospitals and businesses.

The water utility pointed to electricity problems as the source of the crisis causing reservoirs to run dry in various areas including Sophiatown, Northcliff, Westdene, Coronationville, Westbury and Melville.

TimesLIVE