People living in Midrand, Gauteng said they have been without water for three days while others say it returned on the morning of September 18.
A statement by Johannesburg Water that was released on September 16, urges citizens to, “Observe level 1 water restrictions which were implemented from September 1 to March 31”.
Alternative water supply: #Midrand #JoburgUpdates ^N pic.twitter.com/pBcOiKWpBt
— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) September 16, 2023
This sent some people in the area into a tailspin as they believed the water would not be available until March 2024.
“These restrictions prohibits the use of hosepipes to water gardens, wash cars, clean drives as well as filling up swimming pools and water features between 6am to 6pm,” said the water supplier.
It added that this was to ensure that the infrastructure stayed stable during the next few months. X (Twitter users) responded to the statement:
“So Midrand isn't gonna have water till March 2024?”
“Midrand is truly the ghetto because where is the water?”
“We have not had water in Midrand since Saturday. You have not communicated what the solution or plan is. Your conduct is grossly negligent.”
Johannesburg Water updated the statement on September 18, with information about its systems and reservoirs.
#JoburgUpdates ^N pic.twitter.com/HD5zR4vNew
— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) September 17, 2023
This was not received well. “Your messages are just a copy and paste with only dates and times changing. That is total lies you are feeding us.”
Others chimed in as well:
“Is this a joke to you? Copy and paste the same dizzy statement! When are you going to start pumping water to reservoirs because load-shedding is currently being suspended? Can we have some meaningful feedback for Midrand.”
“Stop blaming consumers for your lack of maintenance and upgrades.It’s not our fault that you haven’t increased pumping/storage/reticulation capacity. Fix the leaks that run for days and sometimes weeks.”
Johannesburg Water, despite appeals for decreased consumption to relieve the strain on already overburdened infrastructure, said users continued to use too much water.
Daily water supply system status updates: Monday, 18 September 2023 (Afternoon) #JoburgUpdates ^N pic.twitter.com/kgf50MzW3X
— Johannesburg Water (@JHBWater) September 18, 2023
IOL