POLL | Have you been struggling with water in Joburg?

Many Gauteng residents are gatvol of opening the tap to a trickle or nothing at all while others are living life with minimal frustration.

Rand Water announced “flow control management” at its reservoirs last week “to avoid a complete system crash” due to rising consumption. This was followed by Johannesburg Water implementing water restrictions, including using hose pipes to water gardens, clean driveways or vehicles, a ban on garden irrigation systems and a ban on filling swimming pools and water features.

Rand Water said the management system would be in place “until the system recovers”,  despite Gauteng’s supply dams being more than 90% full.

It has left residents in several parts of the province without water for several hours a day, with areas such as Brixton, Crosby, Coronationville, Hursthill and Westdene experiencing low pressure or no water at all.

The rationing comes after some areas have struggled for water supplies for several weeks already, further frustrating residents.

Other areas have seen minimal disruptions, with residents continuing to flout restrictions.

Johannesburg Water explained the issues affecting areas serviced by its Eikenhof system.

“Due to Rand Water’s uninterrupted load shifting from Eikenhof to recover the Palmiet system, Johannesburg Water’s Commando system levels have worsened from critically low to empty.

“Customers, particularly from the Hursthill reservoirs zone, will experience no water. Both Helen Joseph and Rahima Moosa Child and Mother hospitals have adequate supplies. An emergency meeting will be held with the ministry of water and sanitation tomorrow [Monday] to devise a firm course of action to bring about sustainable solutions to water supply challenges in Gauteng,” said Johannesburg Water spokesperson Puleng Mopeli.

Prof Anthony Turton of the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State challenged Rand Water's blaming rising consumption for the supply problem, saying South Africans were “sick and tired” of being blamed for the consequences of incompetence and failures on the part of government departments.

“I know of no other entity in the world that expects a consumer of its product to use less of their product but still expects them to pay more for it.

“We have between 40% and 60% of the water going into a system lost in pipes before it gets to the end user. Why have they allowed their system to deteriorate so badly? For every 100l of water Rand Water puts in on their side, only 50l comes out. The other 40l-50l is lost on its way there.

“Blaming consumer behaviour is a complete red herring. They are saying we are using water negligently but they are including the 48% lost in the system. They are shifting the loss to the consumer,” Turton told the Sunday Times.

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