Water supply misery forces Charlotte Maxeke Hospital to focus on emergencies, shift surgeries elsewhere

The supply issues are caused by inadequate provision from Johannesburg Water, according to the hospital, where there was a drop in water pressure early on Monday morning. 

An individual who works in the hospital said that when they started their shift there was only hot water and by 10am there was neither hot or cold water from the taps. Doctors were reportedly asked to bring their own water bottles on Monday.

“I work in the ICU. No communication from the hospital management to us as the staff. [...] What’s ironic for us to continue working is to still keep infection control protocols in the mess status of the hospital that is not spoken about,” an anonymous source told Daily Maverick. 

Gauteng Health Department spokesperson Khutso Rabothata confirmed the water challenges. 

“Following an investigation by technicians it was discovered that Johannesburg Water had cut the water supply to the facility’s bulk water tanks on Friday, 13 September 2024. As a result, hospital management has implemented measures to prioritise emergency cases and divert all elective surgeries to nearby facilities until the water challenges are resolved by Johannesburg Water,” Rabothata said. 

Supply ‘challenges’

Johannesburg Water confirmed the hospital had been affected by supply challenges at the Parktown 2 reservoir and that the utility was working around the clock to boost the affected areas.

“After reconfiguration of the Parktown 2 system, which meant closing the outlet side of the reservoir, water was successfully channelled into Charlotte Maxeke storage to satisfactory levels, enabling the hospital to start pumping into their internal reticulation from this morning. Furthermore, water tankers were deployed since last night and into the early hours of this morning to further assist in filling the hospital’s storage,” it said.

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“Currently, the Parktown 2 reservoir is completely closed to build up capacity to supply the hospital, which is impacting the entire zone, thus the supply zone is dry. Once the levels improve, supply will be restored. The poor to no supply in the zone is due to the combination of insufficient supply from the bulk supplier and high demand.”

The Berea reservoir had declined but was “supplying fairly”.

“Poor pressure may occur while supply is reconfigured to boost supply at the Parktown 2 reservoir. The Dunkeld Reservoir is critically low to empty. The inlet remains open, but the reservoir is affected by the capacity of Parktown 2 reservoir. Poor pressure to no water is expected in the supply zone.”

Johannesburg Water added that they are working with the bulk supplier to identify and resolve the underlying issues causing the inadequate bulk water supply. The entity’s teams were continuing their investigation of the system to determine the reasons for the sudden decrease in supply and the high demand.

“These investigations require consistent intervention and troubleshooting. The reservoir remains reconfigured to boost incoming supply. However, there is no estimated time of restoration at this stage”. 

‘Disgraceful’

The DA’s Gauteng health spokesperson, Jack Bloom, said the hospital had not received water from Johannesburg Water since Friday and the taps ran dry on Monday. 

“They have been forced to cancel non-emergency operations, and hygiene has suffered throughout the hospital. It’s disgraceful that a hospital runs out of water, there should be contingency plans to prevent this,” he said.  

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The hospital has storage tanks for seven million litres, which should suffice for several days since it is well above the required minimum storage of 500 litres per bed, amounting to 540,000 litres for its 1,080 beds.

“I suspect [the hospital] did not use its full storage capacity, or make alternative plans for water delivery. It’s yet another management failure that compromises patient care,” Bloom added.

The health department said engagements with the utility were “ongoing to expedite a solution” to the problem and it “remains committed to providing quality healthcare to all citizens”.

“In an effort to ensure that patient care is not compromised, the department has secured the supply of water from Johannesburg Water and bottles of water, which were delivered overnight,” Rabothata said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the GDoH issued a statement saying that water had been restored to the hospital

"the water supply challenges at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital have been resolved. Last night, Johannesburg Water provided seven water trucks in addition to the four trucks sourced by the GDoH. As of 11:00 AM on 17 September 2024, normal water supply to the hospital has been restored. The main reservoir is now 50% full and is distributing water to other blocks within the facility." DM

This story was updated at 13h30 on 17 September.