Cape Town — Joburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, confirmed that some long-suffering residents will be getting water again following 10 gruelling days with the taps running dry.
Gwamanda revealed that the cause of the water outage was a closed valve that affected water supply to Linden and Blairgowrie, the two areas that were hit the longest by the water crisis, IOL reported.
Gwamanda said there was a technical challenge with the City’s Power supply that was exacerbated by a water valve that was closed.
“It (the closed valve) was discovered 24 hours ago and that issue has since been resolved. There is a steady progression in the water supply as well as the levels in the reservoir. This should recover over a period of three days but by (Wednesday) we will start seeing start running through the taps,” Gwamanda said on Tuesday night.
Gwamanda said Rand Water would be investigating the closed valve to determine whether it was an act of sabotage or not.
Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has assured residents who have been without water for over 10 days that water should be restored as soon as this morning. Newzroom Afrika’s @ZinikokaMhlaba has more.
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DA Councillor and Johannesburg caucus leader, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, said the city could face a pandemic soon due to the water scarcity, which affects clinics and hospitals.
“Water is a basic human right. If not attended to, this could lead to health issues because clinics are closing because of no water, without telling patients alternative clinics to go to,” she said.
Joburg Water confirmed that some parts of Linden and Randburg were starting to see an improvement in their water supply, but many residents are still suffering.It noted an improvement in the water supply to Linden and Kensington B after its technicians configured the system to boost water supply to those areas, accroding to EWN.
Joburg Water said it’s closely monitoring the system and would provide updates should there be any changes, saying water tanks will be provided to the affect areas.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
