Read more
Water crisis: Eikenhof substation hit by another lightning strike – Here are the affected areas
The Eikenof substation south of Johannesburg tripped on Monday night following a lighting storm.
The water outage left many residents in the city fuming as hot weather conditions enveloped Gauteng.. Photo: iStock
Johannesburg residents have been warned to brace for further water challenges after another lighting strike at the Eikenhof substation.
The substation south of Johannesburg tripped on Monday night following a lighting storm.
Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, who alerted about the incident, pleaded with residents to be patient while the matter was being speedily attended to. This as the Eikenhof Pump Station, which pumps water to some of the city’s suburbs was affected
“The Eikenhof Pump Station was last night affected by a lightning strike that struck the Eldorado Substation which feeds Orlando and subsequently Eikenhof Pump Station. This occurred at around 20:45 during the storms that covered Johannesburg and the City Power Technical Teams successfully restored power around 23:00.
“Few water supply systems have been affected and are empty. However, a comprehensive assessment will be made after the morning peak demand as in some instances the impact could be delayed,” Gwamanda said.
ALSO READ: Water supply restored as City Power completes repairs at Eikenhof substation
Affected areas
The systems that are affected currently are:
- Waterval Tower
- Linden 1 Tower
- Orlando East Reservoir
- Honeydew Reservoir
- Honeydew Tower
- Brixton Reservoir
- Hursthill 1 Reservoir
- Hurst Hill 2 Reservoir
The City of Johannesburg has urged residents in the affected areas and across the city to use water sparingly to minimise wastage as it assesses the impact of the lightning strike on the system.
Lightning strike
The second lightning strike comes a few weeks after Rand Water’s Eikenhof Pump Station was affected by a power failure on City Power’s transformer, which was also struck by lightning.
The water outage left many residents in the city fuming as hot weather conditions enveloped Gauteng.
There were multiple “dry” suburbs across Johannesburg on Monday as City Power conducted emergency repairs on the feeder board at the Eikenhof substation.
Meanwhile, several areas in Tshwane have seen a delay in the return of water supply due to tampering of a valve.
The city revealed this on Monday as it is now the third week of water supply challenges experienced in Gauteng and the North West.
