The Tshwane metro says the Rietvlei Water Purification Plant will not be able to provide its usual supplemental water supply during the upcoming Rand Water maintenance shutdown, as the facility remains affected by ongoing contamination in the water source.

This comes after Ward 42 councillor Shane Maas warned that the absence of the plant’s backup supply could significantly worsen the impact of the shutdown on residents.

“Unfortunately, unlike in the past, my ward could not rely on a supplemental supply from the Rietvlei Water Purification Plant. Due to contamination of the water source, last I heard, the plant is not running. This may worsen the impact,” said Maas.

He added that a community tap had previously been arranged to assist residents during water interruptions, linked to a reservoir partially supplied by Rietvlei.

Maas said the hope was to provide a source of water for residents to collect water during Rand Water outages.

“I am not sure if this tap will be functional as the current status of Rietvlei Water Purification is unknown,” he said.

Maas said clarity on the plant’s status is urgently needed, noting that any available supply would help reduce the impact of the planned shutdown.

The Tshwane metro confirmed that the plant is currently unable to provide full treatment capacity due to contamination issues.

According to responses provided by metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo, the plant remains offline because the dam water quality has not met required treatment standards.

He said the system is currently affected by microbiological contamination caused by sewer pollution upstream.

He added that the plant is currently operating at minimal capacity, averaging around 2 megalitres per day, using disinfected spring water to supply residents within the Rietvlei Nature Reserve.

Mashigo confirmed that the metro continues to monitor water quality, with recent assessments showing microbial contamination, elevated ammonia levels, high nutrient loads, algal blooms, and ongoing organic pollution.

He further noted that the Klapperkop and Garsfontein reservoirs are partially supplied by the Rietvlei system, but stressed that no additional supply will be available during the shutdown.

“The Rietvlei Water Purification Plant will not be able to provide any supplemental water supply during the upcoming Rand Water shutdown,” he said.

As part of contingency measures, Mashigo said the metro will maintain reservoir levels above 80% ahead of the planned maintenance period, which is expected to last around 12 hours, after which supply will be restored gradually as the system stabilises.

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