I would like to give residents an update on the water situation in Bronkhorstspruit. The area has been having water supply difficulties due to two separate issues that we are tackling, but have been badly exacerbated by the recent work stoppage.
Firstly, there are a series of water leaks across the town, which occurred during the work stoppage this past week. While most of the town does have water, some areas are not getting water due to the leaks causing water losses which are preventing the system from building up sufficient pressure. Our regional operations teams are back at work and have already repaired two of the three leaks, with the final one expected to be completed this morning.
The second challenge is that the new raw water pump at the Bronkhorstspruit raw water pump station that was recently installed has failed. As a result of this breakdown, Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works is unable to produce enough water to fill the reservoirs up to a level to provide to high-lying areas while there are still water leaks. Our water and sanitation team is working to get the second pump repaired, but it will likely take until Friday next week.
The City has supplied eight water tankers to the high-lying areas to ensure that affected residents have potable water until we restore full water supply. In the areas where repairs are happening, we will need to turn off the water to be able to repair the leak. This is critical and while some additional people will be without water for a short while, it is important to allow us to restore supply to all residents of the area.
Our teams are also actively working on the 13 sewer blockages that have been reported and are aiming to clear them all by the end of today.
I want to urge residents to use water sparingly this weekend to allow the water system to stretch to as many households as possible. On my part as the accountable MMC, I am pushing our teams to fix things as soon as possible. The City of Tshwane apologises for the inconvenience.