Gauteng residents dependent upon the Zuikerbosch Rand Water Treatment Plant will again have limited to no water after yesterday’s breakdown in plant equipment. Rand Water says they experience equipment failures at the Zuikerbosch treatment plant because of load-shedding and power dips.
The latest outage will affect the following systems:
• Zwartkopjes System
• Eikenhof System
• Mapleton System
• Palmiet System
Reservoirs that receive their water from the Zuikerbosch plant, including Alexander, Berea, South Hills, and the Commando systems in Joburg, as well as areas in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, will be affected.
It is unacceptable that Rand Water continues to use load-shedding as an excuse for their lack of maintenance on their infrastructure.
For a long time now, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has been calling on Rand Water to regularly maintain their infrastructure and put adequate security measures in place at their reservoirs and pumping stations.
It cannot be that after all these years of the country experiencing load-shedding, Rand Water can still not provide backup electricity at their pumping stations. It is high time that Rand Water takes responsibility for their infrastructure and stops blaming load-shedding for its woes.
The DA will continue to put pressure on the Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Mzi Khumalo, to engage with Rand Water on this issue and ensure that all municipalities produce a water disaster plan.