Gauteng residents living in parts of Johannesburg have been struggling for days to access water. This is because of the burst that occurred at the Rand Water Palmietfontein pipeline.
After the restoration of the bursts, water was flowing at a limited capacity as a result of airlocks in the system, and the flow of water has been restricted. Joburg Water is currently bleeding the system to get rid of the airlocks in the pipes and will return to pumping later today.
This has had an impact on the following reservoirs: Jeppe, South Hills and Alexander Park reservoir.
We have already engaged with Joburg Water on this matter. Joburg Water has indicated that the repairs are complete, but it is taking time for the Alexander Parks reservoir to fill up but not at the pressure required to meet the demand.
See video here.
Due to the long time it has taken to repair the Palmietfontein line it is affecting how quickly the reservoirs fill up and loadshedding does not help the situation.
Residents are urged to adhere to the current water restrictions that are in place and to use water sparingly. When this system is disrupted for extended periods of time, it takes a few days before our reservoirs reach full capacity and for there to be enough pressure for water to reach all our residents.
The DA will submit questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature regarding the problems we are currently experiencing with Rand Water in the province.
We once again demand that an inter-governmental task team be set up to deal with this province’s water and electricity crisis.