Johannesburg water supply rises to 41% after cuts
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Sowetan
Johannesburg’s water network has risen to 41% capacity, up from 37% the previous day, after several weeks of cuts in some areas. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says new technology is helping monitor reservoirs and stabilise supplies, according to Sowetan.
The overall storage level of Johannesburg’s water supply network rose to 41% on Monday 2 November, up from 37% the previous day. Johannesburg Water expects it to reach about 50% by the end of the week, according to South African media outlet Sowetan.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi acknowledged that the province had been caught off guard by the sudden drop in reserves in the large reservoirs. He said technology from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had been deployed on Friday to monitor water and chlorine levels in reservoirs in Johannesburg, Lesedi and Mogale City.
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said supplies had improved in Crown Gardens, Berea and Kensington. Lesufi apologised to affected residents and said accountability would be examined once the service had been restored.
The rise comes after several weeks of cuts in some neighbourhoods. Restoring the Johannesburg water network remains at the heart of the crisis, as Gauteng’s networks lose one billion litres a day, according to an article published on 2 November about those losses.
