Johannesburg Water Gives Update on Maintenance, Deploys Additional Roaming Tankers

• Johannesburg Water announced that it is close to completing the planned maintenance on the Zwartkopjes Pump Station
• The station provides water for many suburbs in Johannesburg, including Parktown, Berea, Forest Hill and the Hector Norris Pump Station, which provides water to Joburg's CBD
• Johannesburg Water has also deployed more roaming tankers to supply water to affected areas, prioritising essential infrastructure

With nine years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, provided insights into infrastructure challenges and state-owned enterprises in South Africa at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG — Johannesburg Water announced on 15 December 2024 that Zwartkopjes Pump Station is pumping at 100% capacity and is expected to restore water supply to the Johannesburg suburbs it relies on. Rand Water began conducting maintenance on the station on 11 December.

Suburbs that will have water soon

Maintenance for the systems that receive water from the Zwartkopjes Pump Station will be completed on 16 December. The Eikenhof Pump Station supplies Soweto, Randburg, Roodepoort, Brixton, Crosby, Hursthill, Lenasia and parts of Joburg Central.

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Maintenance for the systems that receive water from the Zwartkopjes Pump Station will be completed on 16 December. The Eikenhof Pump Station supplies Soweto, Randburg, Roodepoort, Brixton, Crosby, Hursthill, Lenasia and parts of Joburg Central.

Roaming tanks deployed

Johannesburg Water has also deployed roaming tanks to supply emergency water to areas without water. The tanks will prioritise nursing homes, clinics and hospitals. The water systems will fully recover five to 14 days after the supply has been restored.

View the statement here:

What you need to know about Joburg Water woes

• Joburg Water has been conducting maintenance for months, and it shut water for 21 suburbs on 19 November for maintenance
• The Democratic Alliance called for the SOE's board to be dissolved, citing a lack of professionals to resolve the water crisis
• Dissatisfied Lenasia residents embarked on a service delivery protest over water disconnections on 12 November

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Residents demand roaming tanks

Residents affected by the water outages said their areas did not have water tanks.

Julian Naidoo said:

"There's no roaming tankers in the JHB North."

Janine Doller said:

"Considering it just checked all the tanker points in Witpoortjie and Lindhaven, there are no tankers deployed in our area."

Blues Ntlane Valisi asked:

"Where are the tankers that were promised in all affected areas?"

Makgabo said:

'"I have not seen a water tank in Kwena square."

Mpho said:

"The water tank at Randburg Police Station is almost running dry."

Municipalities owe Rand Water

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Rand Water announced that South African Municipalities owe it R7.7 billion. Municipalities in Gauteng are among those in debt.

The SOE's COO, Mahlomula Mehlo, said the company risks shutting down because of the debt. Rand Water's revenue comes from the money it collects from municipalities.

Source: Briefly News