Rand Water has warned that residents have not seen the last of water restrictions in Midrand and other parts of the province.
This follows numerous complaints from residents of Blue Hills and Klipfontein who were out of water for longer than other parts of Midrand recently.
According to the media relations manager at Rand Water, Justice Mohale, water restrictions were imposed to prevent the scarcity of water in the province.
Mohale said the utility was monitoring the consumption of water in municipalities. “It is a normal standard practice to monitor water consumption.”
“When it [consumption] is high, we minimise flow in municipal networks to raise water levels in our reservoirs.
He continued, “Water levels in our reservoirs need to be at least 60 to 90 per cent to supply municipal reservoirs which take about eight hours to fill. Again, municipalities also need the same time to fill their reservoirs to those levels before supplying to residents.”
Mohale added that it was critical that the utility restricted water to prevent reservoirs from being completely depleted. “It is better to restrict water a little bit than to be in a situation where there’s completely no water.”
However, residents of Blue Hills and Klipfontein have experienced frustration over the lack of communication from Joburg Water when restrictions are imposed.
Some parts of Blue Hills are supplied by Tshwane Municipality while Klipfontein gets its water supply from Ekurhuleni Municipality.
Affected parts in Blue Hills have recently gone for six days without water, even after the restrictions were lifted.
Ward 112 councillor Madeleine Hicklin said that when Rand Water throttled supply to the Tshwane and Ekurhuleni municipalities, they ensured their direct customers have water before supplying Blue Hills residents.
“Because the situation in Blue Hills had become so dire, it was agreed that the throttling from Tshwane would cease, and Blue Hills residents then received adequate water, both from a water flow point of view and a pressure point of view,” added Hicklin.
The spokesperson for Joburg Water Isaac Dhludhlu said the challenge they faced was a lack of communication from the two municipalities. “Sometimes when they impose water restrictions they do not communicate with us and as a result, we only learn about it when it has already taken place.
Dhludhlu added, “It then becomes very difficult for us to inform residents early and to make alternative measures for water supply.”
He said Joburg Water was engaging with both municipalities on the matter.
Also check out:
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/201577/parts-blue-hills-without-water-six-days/
https://www.citizen.co.za/midrand-reporter/177461/rainwater-harvesting-future-south-africa/
