Rand Water lifts Hillside water restrictions
The Rand West City Local Municipality has confirmed that Rand Water lifted water restrictions, giving water access to residents in Hillshaven and surrounding areas.
Rand Water has decided to lift water restrictions imposed at the Hillshaven water reservoir. For some time, Hillshaven residents were left without access to water.
The Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) has since issued a statement confirming that Rand Water made the decision.
According to mayoral spokesperson Tshidiso Tlharipe, the lifting of these restrictions will allow surrounding areas such as Hillshaven, Elandsfontein Estate, Mountain View, Thusanang, Bekkersdal, Glenharvie, Simunye and others to have access to running water.
Tlharipe added that the city has come to the agreement that good water management practices are set in place to keep a stable system.
“Through these collaborative efforts, the municipality will have to manage the reduction of consumption and manage its systems effectively and efficiently,” Tlharipe said.
Furthermore, Tlharipe added the municipality will be enhancing its War On Leaks Programme to ensure that water wastage is reduced.
“RWCLM would like to apologise to its citizens for the inconvenience they were subjected to during the water shedding period and are engaging other important stakeholders to find a permanent solution to the situation,” Tlharipe concluded.
On February 28, FF Plus councillor Fred Steffers released a statement requesting that RWCLM urgently supply access to water in Hillshaven.
According to Steffers, residents in Hillshaven have been living with water restrictions for several days. He added that the water pipes supplying Glenharvie and Hillshaven broke down in September 2023 and claimed the municipality installed substandard pumps which were unable to supply water to the residents of Hillshaven.
“The system was unsuccessful in its efforts and Modderfontein Primary School would close if water was not urgently supplied to the school. Rand West City’s inability to provide water to residents borders on the violation of their human rights and must be addressed immediately. The FF Plus will continue to put pressure on the municipality to fulfil its constitutional obligations towards residents and deliver the services for which they pay dearly. The residents of Hillshaven and Glenharvie can no longer be treated like the stepchildren of the municipality,” Steffer concluded.
