Rand Water warns of system collapse if consumption is not reduced

Water running from a tap.

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Rand Water has warned Gauteng consumers that the entire water system in the province will collapse if they do not reduce their consumption.

The bulk water supplier has particularly called on the Tshwane and Johannesburg Metros to encourage residents to lower their water consumption as storage levels in reservoirs drop rapidly.

Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo says, “If we follow the trajectory and we don’t make any changes, the system will collapse. But Rand Water as an organization, we are trying to protect the integrity of our system. So, if we reach a certain level in terms of the levels of our reservoirs, we will ensure that – 1, levels are introduced from Rand Water’s side. At the moment we are giving the metros an opportunity to introduce levels from their side, to introduce restrictions to ensure that there are interventions so that we manage the consumption.”

Water outage

The bulk water supplier says Johannesburg water systems are in a recovery phase after a power outage at the Emfuleni Substation which supplies power to Rand Water’s Vereeniging Water Treatment Plant.

In a statement, Rand Water says the power supply at the Emfuleni substation has been fully restored.

It says this will allow for full pumping capacity at the Eikenhof and Forest Hill stations.

Rand Water, however, says Johannesburg water systems remain under severe strain which may cause reduced pressure in some areas.

Maroo says, “People are starting to get water. Just to give you context on what happened precisely at Emfuleni. We have a water treatment plant in Vereeniging. We are supplied by Emfuleni local municipality in terms of power. So, when we had that power outage it was because of a transformer that belongs to Emfuleni so we could not pump water on the 11th for a couple of hours. And then we had a second trip on the same system, so it affected Eikenhof and other municipalities. So, we are now recovering. So, people are starting to get water.”

Rand Water says consumption is extremely high in areas it serves:

🚨Media Statement🚨
WATER CONSUMPTION EXTREMELY HIGH‼️@JHBWater @CityTshwane @CityofJoburgZA @GautengProvince @GDCoGTA @DWS_RSA #RWWaterDemandManagement #RWWaterSupply #RWReduceConsumption #RWWaterSustainability #RWWaterConservation
[NS] pic.twitter.com/ACgEyno5Qf

— Rand Water (@Rand_Water) February 12, 2025