Pretoria - Residents of Hammanskraal will be without water for most of today while City of Tshwane engineers repair pipes at an ageing reservoir.
The interruption of water supply will take effect from 8am to 4pm and is the result of a major leak on a pipe that supplies water from the Hammanskraal reservoir.
Tshwane said in a statement yesterday: “The City will therefore shut down the water supply for eight hours.”
The areas to be affected include Hammanskraal (Renstown), Kudube Unit 4 (Renbro), Mandela Village, Steve Biko, Refilwe and Kekana Gardens.
Residents of the area were asked to store enough water for household purposes.
The areas have, over the last 10 years, had several water problems, with residents saying that the water is unsafe for human consumption.
At the centre of the area’s water problems are reports of a R295 million tender to maintain and upgrade the Rooiwal waste water treatment plant, which would have been essential to increase the plant’s capacity and address the cause of the water crisis.
The crisis includes the continued leaking of sewerage into the groundwater, declining water quality levels, colouration, smell and taste of the water.
Water tests conducted by the CSIR found the water levels containing levels of nitrates that were unfit for human consumption.
The nearby farming community has also said it was experiencing silting of the waterways and contamination of the borehole water due to the rising levels of contamination, and said the continuation of this crisis threatened their livelihoods.
Two years ago, the then mayor, Solly Msimanga, promised to fix the water problem, and even referred the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission, leading to an investigation. His successor, Stevens Mokgalapa, also battled with the problem during his time in office.
Pretoria News