Tshwane’S Water Network System Remains Under Severe Strain

By Selby Bokaba
City of Tshwane spokesperson

The City of Tshwane is currently experiencing extensive water pressure and supply challenges across multiple systems due to the significantly low inflow from Rand Water.

This reduced inflow from the water utility is negatively impacting on the city reservoirs’ recovery, and several high-lying and sensitive areas are struggling to maintain adequate supply.

The main contributing factor is the critically low level at Rand Water’s Hartebeeshoek Reservoir, which supplies water to the city’s reservoirs in the north, such as Soshanguve and Mabopane which is unable to keep up with current consumption demands, consequently leading to the city not receiving sufficient flow into its network.

This situation has now placed a significant strain on several downstream reservoirs.

Currently, the Soshanguve L Reservoir is empty, while the Mabopane and Kruisfontein Reservoirs are at critically low levels.

These reservoirs are currently unable to build up storage because water flows in and out continuously due to high demand and low supply.

The Soshanguve DD Reservoir is low but showing signs of gradual improvement.

The Ga-Rankuwa system remains stable.

It is, however, inspiring to note that most of the city’s reservoirs, which are supplied by Rand Water’s Brakfontein and Klipfontein systems, are stable.

The Pretoriusrand Reservoir is critically low, but the Reeds, Laudium, Atteridgevile and Lotus Gardens Reservoirs are currently stable, albeit with high consumption.

Although some of these systems remain stable for now, high consumption levels are threatening their stability.

The city is once more pleading with customers to reduce their consumption levels to save the city’s distribution network from collapsing.

The city will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates as conditions change.