Johannesburg Water says its systems continue to show improvement following the planned maintenance to infrastructure by Rand Water.
Johannesburg Water said that since Saturday there has been an upward trajectory in terms of capacity building, and flows have improved and continue to stabilise.
Last week Rand Water shut off water in various parts of the region for 58 hours to improve infrastructure. Though the maintenance was completed on Friday, the utility said this can take between five and 14 days for full service.
Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said systems that are still critical include Crown Gardens, Commando, and the Randburg/Roodepoort region.
She said the entity continues to deploy additional water tankers to these areas and will continue to monitor them.
Tshabalala said the Orlando reservoir has increased capacity to 5% and is steadily improving.
“All other reservoirs are receiving normal water supply and are at normal levels.
(Commando system -- Brixton, Hursthill and Crosby)
The supply at the Commando meter is recovering. At Crosby, the supply is also still in recovery with increased inflows, with two pumps operating and pumping into the Brixton reservoir. As a result, the outlet at the Brixton reservoir is 100% open, with the tower operating normally,” said Shabalala.
She said Hursthill 1 reservoir has a capacity of 5% with very little inflows, while the Hursthill 2 reservoir has a capacity of 15%, although inflows are still very low. Johannesburg Water’s technical teams have been closing the outlet overnight, which has helped to build capacity.
Tshabalala said the Crown Gardens reservoir outlet has been opened at 100%, while the capacity level increased to 45%.
“As a result, inflows are recovering. However, the tower is empty because the reservoir capacity is too low for pumping.
The Berea reservoir’s capacity has increased and is currently sitting at 15%, showing an upward trajectory in its recovery. The Parktown 2 reservoir level is also looking healthier than on Saturday and has a capacity of 10%,” she said.
Tshabalala said several reservoirs in the Randburg/Roodepoort region are getting low inflows and the towers are currently empty.
“Some of the reservoirs and towers are either being supplied using Rand Water’s hydraulic pressure or are receiving pumping from a reservoir. Currently, the system is not pressurised enough and some of the reservoirs do not have adequate capacity for pumping,” Shabalala said.
She said additional Johannesburg Water technical teams have been mobilised and are busy starting the pumps to supply the towers that are currently empty.