Gauteng residents warned to brace for major water disruptions this week

Gauteng residents have been warned to brace for low water supply, as Rand Water embarks on a major winter maintenance programme with the longest disruption lasting 107 hours.

Rand Water said it is embarking on critical maintenance of its key infrastructure from Thursday.

The utility’s maintenance announcement comes amid heightened water supply challenges across Gauteng, where taps regularly run dry for days at a time and with some areas having now water at all.

Duration

The maintenance will begin at different times at locations across various municipalities. It’s scheduled to begin on the 29^th of May until the 2d of June.

While some areas will experience between 10 to 12 hours of water disruptions during the planned maintenance, the longest disruption will last 107 hours.

Rand Water said pumping capacity would be reduced and the Eikenhof, Palmiet, Mapleton and Zwartkopjes pumping stations.

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Palmiet

The City of Ekurhuleni will see the largest water disruptions with the longest lasting 107 hours.

The City of Ekurhuleni said the Palmiet System will be affected by a 10-hour shutdown for the Klipriviersberg isolation for cleaning and inspection.

The shutdown will last from 03 June 2025 at 6am to 4pm.

Mapleton

According to the water utility, the planned maintenance work at Mapleton in Tshwane involves a connection of the newly constructed B16 pipeline to Engine Room 3 at the Mapleton Booster Pumping Station.

According to Rand Water, this major work will take four and a half days, from Thursday, 29 May until Monday, 02 June 2025, to be completed.

To mitigate the impact of a possible water supply interruption, the city is planning to fill the reservoirs which will be affected to over 80% a few days prior to the commencement of the maintenance work.

Purpose of maintenance

The utility said the maintenance will increase capacity, enhance plant reliability and operational efficiency.

Rand Water said the municipalities of Rand West, Mogale City, Madibeng, Rustenburg and Emfuleni will also be affected by the maintenance programme.

“The maintenance work has been strategically scheduled during the low consumption months of May to July 2025 to minimise disruptions and better manage the potential impact on water supply”.

Warning

Residents have been urged to use water sparingly and implement contingency plans to mitigate the low water supply during the maintenance. Water tankers will be arranged for areas without a water supply.

Businesses and institutions have also been urged to maintain on-site storage equivalent to their daily demand for at least 36 hours.

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