Joburg Faces Ongoing Water Outages: Residents Warned of Extended Supply Disruptions

Residents across Johannesburg are still grappling with significant water shortages, now into the eighth day of an unplanned outage that began on April 30. Johannesburg Water has issued updates detailing the situation, but with no clear timeline for when the water supply will be fully restored.

Affected Areas and Ongoing Maintenance

The outage primarily affects areas in the northern parts of the city, including well-known suburbs such as Sandton, Illovo, Rivonia, Morningside, and Hyde Park. Johannesburg Water has stated that the unplanned maintenance is necessary to repair a 600mm pipe that has experienced significant leaks. The affected systems remain at 50% capacity, and the utility has warned that water supply may be reduced or absent entirely during the repair process.

“Both the valve and pipe have been fully exposed, and leaks have been detected on the bypass,” Johannesburg Water confirmed in a statement on Thursday morning.

Bigger Outage Ahead: Residents Brace for Worse

Although residents in many areas have experienced low water pressure or intermittent supply, councillors are warning of an even bigger disruption ahead. Martin Williams, councillor for Region B, outlined the next steps, which include draining the Illovo system to complete the repairs. This draining process will take about three days, with repairs expected to be completed in less than a day. However, it could take another two days to refill the system and as much as a week for the water supply to fully stabilize.

“We are expecting a far more extensive outage after the pipe repair,” said Williams, adding that the high-lying areas would be the first to lose water and the last to recover.

Water Tankers and JoJo Tanks to the Rescue

To mitigate the impact, Johannesburg Water is deploying water tankers and JoJo tanks to the affected regions. However, local councillors have expressed concerns over the efficiency of this distribution. In an interview with The Citizen, Andrew Stewart, a councillor for the Sandton area, emphasized the importance of ensuring that water distribution is carried out promptly and equitably to all residents.

“Residents have had water, but the pressure has been reduced. Now, we are focused on making sure the distribution of water tanks and tankers is handled well,” Stewart said.

Additional Outages in Region E

Meanwhile, residents in parts of Region E, including Riverclub, Parkmore, and Springhill, are facing additional water outages as maintenance work continues. The outages began at 8 AM on Thursday, and residents are advised to expect low to no water supply until further notice.

The Road to Recovery

Johannesburg Water has acknowledged the inconvenience caused by these outages and assured residents that efforts are being made to restore supply as quickly as possible. However, with repairs still underway and more outages expected, many Joburg residents are left wondering when they will finally see reliable water supply again.

“Repairing this pipe and enhancing service delivery is important, but we know that these disruptions are difficult for our residents. We appreciate their patience during this process,” Johannesburg Water concluded in their official update.

As the city continues to face water-related challenges, residents and councillors are hopeful that the ongoing repairs will ultimately improve the reliability of Johannesburg’s water supply. However, the current outage is a stark reminder of the city’s ongoing infrastructure struggles, with many questioning the long-term solutions to avoid such disruptions in the future.

{Source: IT Web}

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