Dry taps, insufficient water tankers and confusion as Rand Water’s maintenance project hits Day 5

“It is day 5 of not a drop of water in Melville and Auckland Park North … When will we get something out of our taps? The communication around this planned maintenance has been as dry as our taps!”

These were the words of Janet de Krester, a resident of the City of Johannesburg, speaking against a backdrop of Rand Water’s 37-day maintenance, which started on 22 June 2024 and will end on 29 July 2024.

Read more in Daily Maverick Less than 24 hours until Rand Water initiates extensive 37-day water maintenance

Despite Johannesburg Water having set out a contingency plan to reduce the impact of the planned maintenance on its residents, people in many parts of Johannesburg claim they have not seen water tanks and have been without water for days.

Dr Ferrial Adam, executive manager of WaterCAN, said the hardest-hit areas include Observatory, Kensington, Greenside, Emmarentia, Melville, North Riding, Crown Mines, Bergbron, Killarney, Witpoortjie and parts of Randburg.

“Communication and information about the tankers and JoJo tanks have been very poor. Joburg Water needed more planning. It seems they reach an emergency and then just wing it. 

“The utility has also failed to provide clear information about which suburbs are linked to each system, leaving residents confused over whether the information on a specific water tower or reservoir is part of their system or not. This makes many of the updates provided by Joburg Water meaningless,” said Adam

Read more in Daily Maverick: Unfolding water crisis in Johannesburg deepens as officials scramble for answers

Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital and Helen Joseph Hospital are among the affected. Whistle-blower Cynthia Stimpel reported severe issues at Helen Joseph, including uncleaned, unflushed toilets and patients waiting for beds.

“I was at Helen Joseph Hospital visiting my sister who was admitted Wednesday. Firstly the security guards sent me from pillar to post. I came to the emergency entrance three times, and they kept sending me back to the main entrance. Eventually, I came back to the emergency entrance after my niece sent me the exact location. 

“There is no water at the hospital. No water running from the taps. The toilets are not cleaned and not flushed. My sister and all the other patients had been waiting, in the emergency section, for beds. 

“So we have a shortage of beds, a shortage of water – even though Gift of the Givers has set up a borehole for the two hospitals [Rahima Moosa and Helen Joseph]. Has something deflected or diverted the water? Or is there just no water?” writes Stimpel.

Blairgowrie in Randburg has faced water supply issues since early this year. 

In March, the area went 12 days without water due to problems at the Waterval Depot, where a mysteriously unopened valve caused prolonged outages. Currently, the community has been without water for more than two days. Other parts of Randburg, including Northgate, Fairlands, Windsor East, Ferndale and Crosby, have also been without water for about five days.

Nicole van Dyk, the councillor for Johannesburg’s Ward 99, which covers Blairgowrie, Linden, Cresta, Ferndale, Jacanlee, Darrenwood, Robin Acres, Robindale and Robin Hills, said she is concerned about the state of the systems in Waterval, White Ridge/Randburg and Roodepoort, whose maintenance was meant to be concluded by Thursday, with the community starting to get water by Saturday morning. It seems recovery will be delayed owing to a power outage at Eikenhof.

“The main reservoirs under Joburg Water are receiving no incoming supply. This is concerning as it’s not clear if Rand Water is getting water to their main incoming feeders. It’s not clear as it is not being communicated. The next 24 hours will tell,” she said.

Residents of Kagiso, a township situated south of Krugersdorp at the southern end of the Mogale City Local Municipality, have been suffering without water for two weeks and have resorted to using a nearby firefighters’ training centre to fill up their containers, according to SowetanLive.

Elsewhere in Johannesburg, a resident who did not want to be named said: “Was this maintenance thought through properly? How can you leave almost an entire city without water for days when you said taps wouldn’t run dry? And please don’t expect us to live off water tankers for the duration of your maintenance. This is incompetence in the highest form!”

DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga has called out Rand Water on its failures and called for it to pay urgent attention to the water issues.

“Yet again, tens of thousands of taps have run dry across Gauteng due to their negligence in ensuring adequate infrastructure. It has become evident that this state-owned entity is unable to provide the essential service that it was established for. Now, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Mogale City’s taps are dry.

“Currently, Rand Water offers municipalities crisis management in the form of an insufficient amount of roaming water tankers as the solution to their failures. This slapstick approach to the province’s water crisis is what allows power outages, like the one at Zwartkopjes Booster Pumping Station, to endanger lives, dry up our taps and in doing so, confirm that the problems are obviously deeper than what the executive has let on.

“Not only are taps in households running dry, but emergency services, specifically fire brigade stations, are left without water to fill their tankers. Fire hydrants are also left dry during the highveld’s fire season endangering lives and properties. The DA calls for urgent action which must include a water indaba with all crucial stakeholders,” Msimanga said.

The current phase of the Rand Water maintenance project started at the Eikenhof and Zwartkopjes systems. As per Rand Water’s schedule on Friday, maintenance is being carried out in the Palmiet system.

Despite residents struggling with water shortages as a result of existing water issues and the planned Rand Water maintenance, the utility has announced that its maintenance project is running on schedule.

Meanwhile, Joburg Water said maintenance was completed at the Zwartkopjes booster pump station, following the power outage on Wednesday, with the pump station continuing to pump at 100%. Some stations are recovering while others are still struggling. DM

#JoburgUpdates #RandWaterMaintenance Systems Update. ^X pic.twitter.com/hPJBR6srnJ

— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) June 27, 2024