Johannesburg Water says its systems are continuing to recover after the disruptive outage at Rand Water’s Eikenhof pump station.

The city's entity is, however, projecting the complete recovery will take at least several days to a week. Some suburbs are still experiencing little to no water in their taps.

Councillor Leah Knott said residents in her ward of Constantia Kloof have not had water for this entire week. She said the suburb is one of the worst affected as it is in a high-lying area. 

“They run out almost immediately [when there are outages] and they are one of the last areas to get water back.”

She said on Thursday morning, Constantia Kloof Primary School sent out a notice to parents to collect their children. “They were getting parents to bring water in the mornings but it was running out by lunchtime. They're having a major issue with their bathrooms.”

Constantia Kloof's water tower level was at 0% on Thursday morning, she said.

“We got a tanker allocated but it was in Constantia Kloof for about 10-15 minutes and a lot of people did not manage to get water during that time. It is highly problematic.”

Joburg Water says the bulk supplier's systems are interconnected and are flexible to augment (support) one another, which assists in the recovery of all systems.

The entity said it would prioritise the prompt isolation and repair of bursts and leaks.

“Customers are requested to repair leaks on their properties as these also contribute to the high demand on Johannesburg Water systems. Residents are requested to observe level-1 water restrictions which are implemented from September 1 to March 31. These prohibit the use of hosepipes to water gardens, wash cars, clean driveways, as well as fill up swimming pools and water features between 6am and 6pm. Instead, the use of grey water is encouraged.”

Status of central system supplied by Eikenhof pump station

• Crosby reservoir has improved but remains low and supplying fairly. 
• Brixton reservoir has improved but remains low. Pumping has resumed and the tower is gradually recovering. 
• Hursthill 1 and 2 reservoirs are both critically low. Improvement remains low in the system, poor pressure to no water is expected in the supply zone. Hursthill 1 is being reconfigured to boost supply.
• Crown Gardens reservoir and towers are critically low. The reservoir outlet will be throttled to assist in recovery. 
• Eagles Nest reservoir is critically low, supplying fairly to Alan Manor and Naturena reservoirs. Poor pressure is expected in the supply zone while the system is recovering.
• Aeroton reservoir and tower are supplying fairly, however poor pressure is still expected.
• Berea reservoir (supplied from Zwartkoppies) is critically low due to high demand and poor supply pressure. 

Randburg and Roodepoort system supplied by Eikenhof pump station

• Linden 1 reservoir and tower, Linden 2 reservoir and Blairgowrie reservoir are critically low. Poor pressure to no water may still be expected in the area. Recovery is slow due to high demand and reduced incoming flows as the system is still recovering. This system may take longer to improve due to system configuration.
• Honeydew reservoir and tower and Olivedale reservoir: The Honeydew reservoir has improved and is supplying fairly, while Olivedale reservoir is still recovering.
• Cosmo City and Boschkop reservoirs have improved and supplying fairly, while Randpark Ridge reservoir is empty.
• Robertsville reservoir, Fairlands reservoir and Corriemoor reservoir are low but supplying fairly.
• Kensington-B reservoir and tower have improved and supplying fairly.
• Helderkruin reservoir has improved while the tower is critically low. Poor pressure to no water to be expected in the supply zone.
• Witpoortjie reservoir has improved and supplying fairly while the tower is critically low. Poor pressure to no water may be expected in the supply zone.
• Constantia, Horizon, Waterval and Quellerina towers are critically low, while Florida North tower has slightly improved. Poor pressure to no water is expected in the supply zone.
• Waterval tower is empty. No water is expected in the supply zone. Pumping will resume when Waterval system recovers.

Sandton system supplied by Palmiet pump station

• Bryanston reservoir is low but improving while pumping has resumed and the tower is improving. 
• Illovo reservoir is critically low, while the tower is empty. The reservoir remains throttled to assist in recovery. Poor pressure to no water is expected.
• Linbro Park and Morningside reservoirs are critically low. Poor pressure to no water is expected in the supply zone.
• Marlboro reservoir has improved and supplying fairly including the two direct feeds (Linbro and Marlboro)

Soweto system supplied by Eikenhof pump station

• Chiawelo reservoir, Doornkop West reservoir, Power Park reservoir, Jabulani reservoir and Diepkloof reservoir, Orlando East and Meadowlands have improved and are supplying fairly.
• Zondi reservoir and tower, Braamfischer reservoir and Protea Glen reservoir are low but supplying fairly. 

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