Joburg Water’s Crown Gardens system, which was severely affected by a pump failure at Rand Water’s Eikenhof station, continues to improve steadily. While the system is not yet back to optimal levels, the municipal entity responsible for water provision is able to provide water flows throughout the day as inflows improve from Rand Water. “Although the water levels at the Crown Gardens towers have improved (tower 1 is at 4.7 metres and tower 2 is sitting at 4.5 metres), the reservoir is still struggling with 2.2 metres of water levels,” explains Puleng Mopeli, the entity’s spokesperson.
Mopeli says low-lying areas have water supplies; however, the high-lying ones are getting low flows, with a few streets in Robertsham, south of Johannesburg, still experiencing no water.
The reservoir has been opened to 100% capacity, and the water supply is being monitored throughout.
On Monday morning, inflows from Rand Water were around 21 megalitres per day, which is above average (normal flows are 18 megalitres per day).
“If these flows continue, we anticipate we will be back to having normal flows by Tuesday. We have opened the Crown Gardens reservoir to 100% capacity, and this will be monitored.
If it holds, normal supply should resume before the end of the week,” says Mopeli.
She notes that water flows on the Commando system (which comprises HurstHill, Brixton, and Crosby) have normalised, and the entity has experienced flows of more than 2,500 megalitres per day.
“However, the HurstHill system is still not back to normal and is battling with capacity. HurstHill 1 is sitting at 0.5 m, while HurstHill 2 is almost empty at 0.2m. As a result, high-lying areas being fed by the reservoirs are getting intermittent to no water supply,” she says.
Mopeli says the Brixton system is stabilising, and the reservoir has been opened to 50%.
”If these levels are constant, then there will not be a need to close the outlet overnight to build capacity. If this trajectory continues, the supply zones should start getting normal water flows by Tuesday.”
The Alexander Park system is still struggling and does not have normal flows.
“This system is situated at a higher altitude, so historically, it is the last to recover. As a result, the Alexander Park high-lying zones are experiencing intermittent or no water supply.”
Mopeli adds that Joburg Water continues to provide alternative supply to residents with no water and poor water pressure, with 16 roaming tankers and 12 stationary tankers already deployed.
Written by Nolwazi Dlamini
29/03/2023