The City of Johannesburg has over the last month been confronted with bulk water supply disruptions that have affected residents at varying times and in different areas.
Between 24 August 2023 and 24 September 2023, Rand Water, which is our bulk water supplier,experienced numerous challenges in their bulk water supply infrastructure which negatively impacted different water supply systems in the City of Johannesburg.
On 19 September 2023, Rand Water’s Zuikerbosch Water Purification Plant powerlines were affected by the severe thunderstorm around midnight on Tuesday, 19 September 2023 which subsequently tripped the plant. The attempts to restart the plant revealed faults along the overhead power lines supplying the auxiliary plant.
The power failure resulted in the loss of 2 000 Mega Liters per day. Consequently, this load reduction had impacted all Municipalities supplied from Zuikerbosch Water Purification Plant.
The Palmiet system supplies the Linksfield, Alexander Park and South Hills towers, as well as the Sandton and Midrand reservoirs and all were severely affected; as a result, some of the systems ran dry.
The Eikenhof system which supplies the Randburg, Roodepoort, Soweto, Brixton, Crosby and Hurst Hill water supply systems was also affected resulting in customers experiencing low water pressure to no water supply for days after this incident.
There have been subsequent incidents on the 21st and 24th of September 2023 that have exacerbated the water supply situation affecting residents of the City and surrounding municipalities.
As the Mayor of Johannesburg, my primary responsibility is to the residents of the City. It is to ensure that the we mitigate the impact to residents of the bulk water supply disruptions and to provide alternative water supply to residents, our hospitals and other critical institutions across the City.
Since we were first notified of these disruptions, that has been our main focus and continues to be. The Minister of Water and Sanitation has a responsibility to supply bulk water and the current disruptions indicate a monumental incapacity to do so currently.
He should be best advised to urgently attend to matters within his area of responsibility and to avoid creating dramatic smokescreens to shield the incompetence of his officials and entities.
Over the last week there has been much said about the absence of the Executive Mayor from a meeting convened by the Minister to discuss the current failures of himself, his department and entities.
As the Executive Mayor I attend meetings on invitation and no such invitation was formally submitted to me for a meeting with the Minister. Similarly, just as the Minister is appointed by the President to oversee Water and Sanitation, as the Executive Mayor I have an appointed
Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) responsible for Water Services. The MMC has been in full attendance of the Minister’s meetings and has briefed a Special Mayoral Committee meeting that I convened specifically on the water situation on the challenges expressed by the Minister.
I take serious exception to the fact that the Minister and subsequently the Minister in the Presidency, single-out Johannesburg as being non-responsive to their meetings and initiatives.
In Johannesburg, we are focused on corrective actions to restore water supply and mitigate the crisis we have been plunged into by national incompetence and failure.
Attending meetings may be primary to the Ministers but we have residents and hospitals to whom we must guarantee constant supply of water using tankers and other means.
Those solutions we are implementing
on the ground and not in meetings and boardrooms.
The MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services together with the Managing Director of Johannesburg Water will continue to engage the Department and Rand Water. The primary focus
is to ensure that we ultimately receive the bulk water we purchase from Rand Water.
Whilst the system remains strained across the City, our teams are monitoring the recovery closely and are noting considerable improvements in the recovery of reservoir storage capacity.
Reservoir levels are improving slightly in the majority of areas however, the City still urges residents to comply with the Water Restrictions and to minimise water use.
As the City, we are investing considerably in infrastructure and water management systems to improve our supply, storage and efficiency. This includes a focus on minimising water losses due to leaks and illegal connections.
The City and Johannesburg Water will continue to provide daily updates on the water supply
system status and improvements for the benefit of residents.