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Parts of Gauteng will face dry taps as Rand Water’s 16-day reservoir maintenance affects multiple municipalities.
Picture: iStock
Gautengers should brace themselves for another prolonged water outage at the end of the month as Rand Water’s phase two of critical maintenance continues.
City of Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said roaming water tankers will be dispatched as and when the need arises.
“The city has been notified by Rand Water about their 16-day regulatory in section and cleaning maintenance of the Hartebeeshoek reservoir, in compliance with the dam safety regulations,” he said.
16-day reservoir maintenance
Various areas will be affected, including Akasia, Akasia East and Akasia West reservoirs, Ga-Rankuwa East, Ga-Rankuwa West and Ga-Rankuwa industrial reservoirs, Kruisfontein Reservoir, Klipfontein Reservoir, Mabopane Main, Mabopane Res and Mabopane Central reservoirs, Magaliesberg/Rosslyn reservoir, Rama City meter: Rama City, Soshanguve DD reservoir, Soshanguve L reservoir and the Winterveldt reservoir.
“According to Rand Water, their team of technicians will, in the first two days of the scheduled work, isolate and test the valves before draining the reservoir into the municipal reticulation system.
The draining is expected to take three days,” he said.
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Once the reservoir has been emptied, the team will install a bypass valve to allow the water utility to supply water by bypassing the reservoir during the period.
“Bypassing the reservoir will ensure that supply interruption is kept to a minimum, with low-lying areas continuing to receive water, albeit with low pressure. High-lying areas will have no water during the work period,” Bokaba said.
The last part of the maintenance work to clean the reservoir was expected to take six days.
Disinfect reservoir for three days
“Thereafter, the team will disinfect the reservoir for three days before activating supply to the impacted meters,” Bokaba said.
Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo said the water utility would provide regular updates via its official communication channels and social media platforms to keep customers informed of progress.
Maroo said Rand Water will be moving to the next phase of the planned maintenance scheduled to start on Monday and the last work will be completed on 18 July.
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“Maintenance activities will start at different times and locations across various municipalities. In the upcoming maintenance phase, pumping capacity will be reduced at the Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes and Palmiet systems.
“Consequently, areas within the cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane may experience low water pressure or intermittent supply.
“The maintenance may also impact supply to the municipalities of Rand West, Mogale City, Merafong, Madibeng, Lesedi, Govan Mbeki, Rustenburg, Royal Bafokeng and nearby mines and industries.”
Water outages scheduled during low consumption months
Maroo said the maintenance work has been strategically scheduled during the low consumption months of May to July, to minimise disruptions and better manage the potential impact on the water supply.
In the city of Johannesburg, the Eikenhof system’s pumping will be reduced by 600M l/day for 48 hours and the Zwartkopjes system will have no pumping activity for the duration of the maintenance work of 50 hours.
