Unannounced week-long water outages angers Soshanguve residents
The residents are upset because the metro did not keep them updated about the water cuts, especially as it was planned for more than a day.
Dry taps in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria have many residents in dismay.
While some other areas of Sosh had water supply restored on Saturday night, some haven’t had a drop since last Tuesday, July 11.
Residents have been bereft of water for a week without any information on when and how long the water outage will last.
They claim that the metro failed to inform them of the water cuts, especially since they had been anticipated for more than a day.
The locals have gone to social media to vent their frustration over not being informed of the situation.
Last week before the water cuts the city in a statement announced the power trip at the Mapleton pumping station, which will cause water shortages in Tshwane.
The statement listed all the areas to be affected by the cuts. However, Soshanguve was not listed yet suffered water cuts.
A resident in block H Gracious Nkala said this situation has put them in a compromising position.
“Our health is compromised as we had no water to flush our toilets or to even bathe, this is very unhygienic,” Nkala said.
Nkala said they were forced to buy water for drinking as well as for cooking.
The city stated that they have deployed 24 water tankers as a form of relief to the Sosh residents.
However, Nkala said the demand was more than the supply.
“There were more people than the amount of water the tanker could deliver,” Nkala said.
He told Rekord that a lot of people would queue waiting for the tanker to deliver water but not everyone could get water.
“The tanker could get finished while other people are still in the queue.”
Nkala said in his section at least the water was restored after spending five long days without a drop.
A resident and block G said water in her section has not been restored.
“I still don’t have water and no update has been issued so in this regard I am just stranded,” said Sindiswa Mantengu.
Mantengu said she is worried as schools are about to reopen and if this situation persists it means children will be at risk in schools.
The water level at the Block L reservoir dropped following the cleaning maintenance work executed by Rand Water at their Haartbeeshoek reservoir.
The metro’s spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the cleaning is still underway.
“According to Rand Water, they are supplying water through a bypass method which is also experiencing challenges,” Mashigo said.
He said a team is on-site investigating the challenges experienced with the bypass.
He confirmed that 24 water tankers were deployed and coordinated in conjunction with councillors.
“The city is still waiting for the water utility to advise on the progress of the maintenance.”
Here is an update on the city of Tshwane reservoirs on Sunday night: https://twitter.com/CityTshwane/status/1680669138509807616?s=20
Levels at various reservoirs Region 1:
Mabopane Central 85% (90%)
Mabopane Main 34% (38%)
Mabopane Res 3.3% (3.3%)
Sosha L North Res 27% (38%)
Sosha L South Res 31% (42%)
Sosha DD Res 27% (42%)
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