Gauteng water crisis: Tshwane reservoirs hit by high consumption

Gauteng’s water infrastructure seems to be buckling under pressure, with municipalities unable to meet increased demand due to high temperatures.

The latest area to be hit is Bronkhorstspruit, where the water treatment plant is struggling to stabilise supply due to high consumption, despite operating continuously at near full capacity.

City of Tshwane spokesperson Selby Bokaba said that reservoir levels at Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, and Ekandustria remained low, while the tower in Zithobeni was empty.

Bokaba said the city would now split water pumping between the reservoirs, a move that would likely impact supply in those areas.

“The high level of consumption by customers is making it difficult for the system to stabilise. To manage the situation, the city has opted to implement a 50/50 distribution split from the treatment plant,and technicians will closely monitor the reservoir levels and the system performance. It is envisaged that this intervention will assist in improving stability across the system,” said Bokaba.

This comes a day after Rand Water warned the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros to reduce consumption as they exceeded allocated levels, putting the system under further pressure.