By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Africa’s largest bulk water utility, Rand Water has completed a 54-hour maintenance on the Eikenhof system, which is part of essential upgrades to critical bulk water infrastructure needed to enhance long-term reliability ahead of schedule.
The planned phase 3 maintenance started on Tuesday and was expected to be finished on Thursday.
Johannesburg Water said the supply is being restored gradually and may take up to 3 to 5 days for the reservoirs to return to normal.
Spokesperson for the entity, Nombuso Shabalala, said alternative water supply will continue to be provided to affected communities until the supply is fully restored.
“Johannesburg Water continues to monitor system levels and performance and may apply configuration changes to boost the systems where applicable,” she said.
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said reservoirs had been filled up to 70% in advance of the maintenance programme to manage high demand and that both roaming and stationary tankers would be deployed to supply the affected areas.
Morero said, this work is essential to safeguarding the city’s long-term water security, and we will continue to work with Rand Water and key stakeholders to manage this maintenance, prioritising our residents’ interests.”
Meanwhile Johannesburg Water has confirmed recent water quality tests have shown no detection of E coli after reports of foul-smelling tap water in parts of the Johannesburg CBD and Bez Valley late last month.
Shabalala said the latest results indicate there is no evidence of faecal contamination in the affected section of the water network.
“As part of the investigation and interventions, the most recent water quality test results show no detection of E coli at any sampling points, confirming there is no evidence of faecal contamination in the affected section of the network,” added Shabalala.