Staff Reporter.
Power supply from an Eskom substation, which negatively impacted water production in Gauteng, has since been restored.
The power supply interruption, affecting transmission from Snowden substation, was caused by a veld fire on Sunday afternoon. This subsequently impacted Rand Water’s Zuikerbosch Water Treatment Works, reducing its production capacity by 60%, according to a statement from Rand Water.
Eskom Gauteng spokesperson Amanda Qithi said that once the fires subsided, power supply to the Rand Water treatment plant was restored.
Eddie Singo, executive manager at Rand Water, confirmed that the problem with Eskom’s power supply was resolved and that Rand Water started restoring production at the treatment plant on Sunday evening.
Singo also said that at no point had there been no water supply. “The system did not go down… so far, we were able to restore power and restore production before the reservoirs went down.”
For now, Rand Water is working to restore reservoir levels, he said.
Last week, Rand Water put out a separate statement urging consumers to reduce water consumption. It has implemented stage 1 water curtailments to slow down high consumption levels.
Singo said the curtailment still stands. Consumers are using more water than municipalities are entitled to, and the curtailment is meant to bring consumption back to licence levels – otherwise the Vaal Dam water levels could start reducing, he added.