The City of Johannesburg MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department (EISD) Cllr Mpho Moerane wishes to give the City’s residents an update on the state of the water supply and reasons for the current interruptions.
On Wednesday, 21 October 2020, a power failure occurred at the Orlando substation, which supplies the Rand Water Eikenhof pump station with power, at about 8am. This is the pump station that supplies the Johannesburg Water Hursthill reservoir that feeds the South and West of Johannesburg.
As a result of the power failure, the Hursthill reservoir lost capacity, and the Johannesburg Water team then started on the process to recover the reservoir and resume water supply, which partly involves diverting water flow from Brixton and Crosby supply systems after hours. The recovery process was successful, and water was fully restored to the entire Hursthill area on Sunday, 25 October.
The Hursthill supply was stable since 25 October, until the reservoir lost capacity again on Friday, 30 October. Upon their investigation on the reason for the loss of capacity, the Johannesburg Water team found that one valve gate on the bulk line was on closing position, and as a result no water going into the reservoir.
The flow to the reservoir has since improved significantly, and the system is now in the process of recovery while being monitored closely. We expect that the entire system should be fully charged by late afternoon and the entire zone should then have water. We have, however, confirmed with all affected areas in the morning and established that water has been restored.
We appeal to residents to use water sparingly, which will ensure that the system recovers even faster. The MMC empathises with all the affected customers for their patience during this time, and will continue the oversight and monitoring together with Johannesburg Water to ensure that all issues are resolved and there is effective water supply.
Johannesburg Water senior management team met with MMC Moerane at the Hurst Hill reservoir earlier today to do an oversight visit at the substation. The team was able to explain to the MMC the entire recovery process to get the reservoir back to full capacity. Johannesburg Water continues to monitor the situation, and the reservoir is recovering well.
For more information contact:
Stan Itshegetseng
Deputy Director: Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Office of the MMC – EISD
Cell: 0837024778
