Pretoria - Tshwane residential areas in high-lying areas saw an improvement in water supply as reservoirs continued to recover amid the stage 5 and 6 load shedding announcement.
Difficulties with water pressure got the better of Soshanguve residents, who took to the streets on Tuesday to vent their frustrations by blocking roads with burning tyres and stones.
Kalafong Hospital and residents west of Pretoria have also experienced a “drought“ over the past week, which has frustrated staff and patients.
The Gift of the Givers joined those who delivered water to the hospital on Tuesday.
Tshwane found itself struggling to supply water to all its residential areas, because of combined pressures from load shedding and the heatwave.
The chairperson of the Lotus, Atteridgeville, Saulsville Civic Association, Tshepo Mahlangu, said although residents in the west didn’t engage in protest action, they were furious because they didn’t have water for three days.
There were also no tankers in the area.
“It was really frustrating. Even more painful was the fact that we are rate- and tax-paying residents, yet our neighbours in the informal settlements, who don’t pay for services, were receiving water in trucks.
“I think another thing which frustrated our people was the lack of communication,” said Mahlangu.
The MMC for Utility Services and Regional Operations, Daryl Johnston, said there were improvements in eradicating water challenges, but load shedding remained a risk to regular water supply.
He said the City worked closely with Rand Water to balance and manage the incoming water supply to the municipality in order to restore water to all areas of Tshwane.
“I’m pleased to report that we have restored the water supply to most of the affected areas, with only a few high-lying areas remaining with water challenges, particularly Soshanguve Block L and Mooikloof. Both areas are being prioritised and we are hoping to restore full services by the end of today.
“Despite our drive and commitment to restore full services, we are still facing several challenges which I would like to address.
“Firstly, with regard to Soshanguve Block L, our teams were prevented from working in the area yesterday due to community protests.”
Johnston announced that water levels at the reservoir were recovering well and were ready to be restored by yesterday.
“I do understand the frustration of residents with the increased water and electricity challenges, but I must ask communities to allow our teams to work safely without intimidation and threats. If our teams can’t get to Soshanguve Block L, we can’t restore the water supply.
“Another great challenge is that Eskom announced a return to stage 5 and stage 6 load shedding last night.
“Higher levels of load shedding put serious pressure on the water supply network, affecting both the City network and Rand Water’s bulk supply systems,” Johnston said.
Despite the City having implemented stage 2 water restrictions, the latest meter readings from Rand Water showed that the City of Tshwane used more water last week than in the previous week.
Pretoria News