KEMPTON’S water woes continue this morning with more water pipe bursts occurring last night.
According to Clr Jaco Terblanche pipe bursts in his ward occurred at the intersection of Commissioner Street and Monument Road, as well as on Spekboom Street.
Unconfirmed reports of burst pipes in Isando and Norkem Park were also received and as a result various areas in Kempton Park are affected.
Terblanche again blamed the bursts on air bubbles in the pipes which form as a result of Rand Water switching off water supplies to reservoirs.
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In a statement issued earlier this morning, Terblanche calls on the metro to ensure water restrictions are in place to prevent further water outages in the metro. This after many municipalities across South Africa have already implemented water restrictions.
“Ekurhuleni residents were without water most of Wednesday without any prior notification or temporary measures in place to supply drinking water at the very least.
“Kempton Park ext 2-4, Glen Marais, Aston Manor, Nimrod Park, Allen Grove and Rhodesfield were the worst affected, with water being off since the early hours of the morning. The water levels in the reservoirs are still extremely low, leading to a loss in water pressure,” he said.
He said the DA established that Rand Water had implemented water restrictions to reduce water usage and preserve water resources due to dam water levels dropping below threshold levels of 60%. As a result, the Department of Water and Sanitation has set the requirement for residents to reduce water usage by 15%.
Residents of affected areas have, however, not been informed by the metro regarding any water restrictions. Furthermore, no prescribed schedules, to enable residents to prepare accordingly, had been issued. There have also not been any communication from the metro informing residents about mitigation measures to use water sparingly, he added.
“The DA will be monitoring the situation and will keep residents updated as the situation progresses.
“The DA-led City of Johannesburg has asked its residents to use water sparingly and in line with that initiative, we urge that Ekurhuleni residents do the same by:
• Not watering or irrigating gardens between 6am and 6pm;
• Not filling swimming pools with municipal water;
• Not using hosepipes to wash cars or clean paved areas and driveways, and;
• Reporting water leaks to the nearest care centre, ward councillor or call centre to ensure that we manage water leakages.
“With a water crisis looming, the DA is working hard to ensure the metro communicates and put water restrictions in place with due consideration for the needs of citizens and the local economy.”
