Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai is seen during the media briefing on bulk water provision in its area of supply in Johannesburg. (Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images)

• The second phase of Rand Water’s maintenance, affecting the Palmiet pump station, began on Monday.
• The impact will be felt in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Madibeng.
• Full recovery is expected to take several days and residents have been warned of water outages.

The second phase of Rand Water’s extensive maintenance began on Monday, with work on the Palmiet pump station affecting customers in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, Madibeng, and the industries supplied by the station.

Pumping by the major station was reduced to 68% at 08:00 for 50 hours, from 15 to 17 July.

In Johannesburg, the systems set to be affected during the maintenance period are: all Sandton and Midrand systems; the South Hills Tower; and the Alexandra Park, Randjieslaagte and Linksfield reservoirs.

These systems, especially the Midrand and Sandton systems, have recently struggled with supply.

In June, Johannesburg Water held a tour showcasing the ongoing upgrades to the Midrand system.

READ |Extended outages and slow recovery due to Rand Water’s maintenance

During the tour, Johannesburg Water operational manager Gugulethu Quma said the demand on the water system was “very high”, and that the current 24-hour standard retention capacity was no longer available.

He said:

Quma added that the system was no longer meeting the minimum requirements.

In December 2023, a water outage caused Sandton City, the flagship mall in Africa’s richest square mile, to temporarily shut all its bathrooms.

The area’s hospitals also suffered as reserve water was depleted.

In a reminder about the outage on Monday, Johannesburg Water said the full recovery of the systems would take several days after the maintenance was completed on 29 July.

“However, the areas supplied by the Sandton and Midrand reservoirs and towers may take longer to recover as the reservoirs need to first build capacity after being empty,” it added.

In Tshwane, the maintenance affects three bulk water meters: Willow Acres, Kwagga and Nellmapius. This will affect the supply of the City’s Regions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

On Thursday, the City of Tshwane said that the reservoirs would be filled to maximum capacity before the maintenance period.

“However, water supply may be interrupted, and residents are therefore urged to use water sparingly,” it said.

Meanwhile, more maintenance is expected at Palmiet during the third and final phase of the planned maintenance.

On 29 July, the system’s pumping will be reduced to 76% for 40 hours.