CITY OF TSHWANE ACTIVATES COORDINATED PLAN TO MANAGE RAND WATER SHUTDOWN

City of Tshwane MMC for Utility Frans Boshielo photo by Dimakatso Modipa

By Cllr Frans Boshielo
MMC for Utility Services

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality was officially notified by Rand Water and ESKOM of planned maintenance work on the Palmiet and Zuikerbosch Water
Systems scheduled to take place from 29 May to 02 June 2026.

The maintenance operation is expected to affect water supply to 69 reservoirs
across Regions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, resulting in low water pressure and intermittent
water supply interruptions in a number of communities during this period.

The Multiparty Coalition Government has activated a coordinated operational
response aimed at managing the impact of the shutdown and ensuring that residents
continue receiving access to water through alternative supply interventions while the
maintenance work is underway.

As part of the City’s preparations, reservoirs supplied through the affected Rand Water systems are currently being filled to maximum capacity ahead of the
shutdown.

The City is also throttling outlet valves in certain areas to regulate excessive consumption and preserve available supply for longer periods during the maintenance window.

To further strengthen operational response capacity, the procurement process for an
additional 181 water tankers is currently underway to augment the existing municipal
fleet of 36 water tankers.

The Emergency Shutdown Operations Centre has also been activated to coordinate
real-time monitoring of reservoir levels, system recovery and the deployment of
roaming water tankers to areas experiencing increased demand or prolonged disruptions.

The MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations, Cllr Frans Boshielo, said the City has been preparing extensively for the maintenance period and remains focused on reducing disruption to residents as far as possible.

“While this planned maintenance will place pressure on parts of the water network,
residents should be assured that the City has activated extensive operational measures to manage the impact and support affected communities throughout this period,” said MMC Boshielo.

“Our teams will remain on the ground monitoring reservoir levels, coordinating water tanker deployment and responding to areas experiencing difficulties.

We are approaching this shutdown in a coordinated and proactive manner to protect
residents and maintain service continuity as far as possible.”

Residents are urged to use water responsibly and sparingly during the shutdown period to help preserve available supply across the network and support system recovery.

MMC Boshielo further cautioned that while the planned maintenance may conclude within the scheduled timeframe, some reservoirs and network systems may require additional time to recover to full operational capacity.

As a result, certain communities may continue to experience delayed restoration of normal water supply even after the maintenance work has been completed.

“We thank residents for their patience, cooperation and understanding during this
period.

The City remains fully committed to keeping communities informed, mitigating the impact of the shutdown and ensuring that no community is left unsupported while recovery processes are underway,” added MMC Boshielo.

The Multiparty Coalition Government remains committed to strengthening long-term
water security and infrastructure resilience across Tshwane while continuing to improve the City’s internal capacity to respond effectively to operational challenges.