Pretoria - Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo has given the City of Tshwane and Rand Water two weeks to come up with a consolidated plan to solve the capital’s water woes.
The municipality has been struggling with water supply in parts of the city in recent months, blaming the water utility for the supply problems.
The department has since intervened to unite the two parties to work together in solving the water problems.
In a second meeting, on Sunday, Mahlobo gave Rand Water and the metro two weeks to come up with a plan to resolve the water challenges.
In a statement, department spokesperson Wisane Mavasa said Mahlobo also called on the citizens of Tshwane to be considerate when using water as some reservoirs in the city were experiencing slow recovery due to high-water usage by those in low-lying areas, resulting in residents in high-lying areas having no access to water.
Mavasa said: “As the two institutions continue in their effort to stabilise the system, the deputy minister further gave the collective two weeks to put together a medium to long-term plan on how they are going to respond to this peak demand period that is exacerbated by high temperatures, interruptions in storage capacity recovery due to load shedding, and non-revenue water.
She said that among the problems adding to the city’s water challenges was water leaks that had been left unattended and high water consumption by residents.
“The deputy minister also wanted to know how the city would receive the extra water to be allocated from Rand Water. In addition, the deputy minister urged the city to include in the plan how it will address the issue of leaks that is contributing to water losses in the distribution system.
“The City of Tshwane has also acknowledged and recognised high water consumption on their end and undertook to work on a water conservation strategy to reduce usage,” Mavasa said.
The meeting, also attended by the department’s technical team, provided feedback on the progress made by the collective on the action plan that was presented and committed to by the two institutions to restore water supply to areas experiencing challenges and ensure sustainable and efficient supply in the city.
“The meeting reported and noted significant improvements as water supply has been restored in most areas.
“However, some parts of the city, especially high-lying areas, are still grappling with water supply challenges as the system recovers,” she said.
Mavasa said Mahlobo appreciated how the city and the water utility handled the situation and encouraged the two institutions to continue strengthening proactive engagement, co-operation, collaboration, co-ordination and communication for the benefit of residents.
She said: “Rand Water and the City of Tshwane continue to reaffirm their commitment to working collaboratively to provide a consistent supply of high-quality drinking water.”
At the weekend, the metro said water levels were improving.
Parts of the city were facing water interruptions that have left residents without water for several days.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said parts of Sinoville, Kaalfontein and Atteridgeville were without water because the reservoir supplying them has been depleted.
“In Pretoria East, water supply has been restored in some surrounding areas. Mooikloof remains a challenge as the supply to the source is insufficient due to the current high water demand,” Mashigo said.
Pretoria News