While people living in high-lying areas continued to experience water outage on Wednwsday, the City of Tshwane assured residents in Sunnyside and surrounding suburbs that water supply was being gradually restored to other areas.
Municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said it would take longer to have the supply restored to areas along Justice Mohammed Street as they were on the system’s high line.
“Water tankers will continue to service the areas which are still experiencing the interruption,” he said.
The return of water in some areas followed a 1000mm pipe burst at Thabo Sehume Street next to the Gautrain bridge on Sunday, forcing the City to partially shut down the water supply.
On Tuesday, the City angered affected residents when it indicated that it was estimated that the water supply would be restored by tomorrow.
Residents lashed out at the City for its week-long turnaround time.
However, Mashigo said yesterday the municipality was pleased to report that the water supply was being gradually restored to some of the areas which experienced an interruption.
“The gradual flow is done to allow the system to build up the required pressure. Water has been restored in most of the areas along Stanza Bopape and Eastwood streets. Areas along Bosman Street also have water even though the pressure is still low,” he said.
Mashigo said it was encouraging that even though the restoration of the water supply was expected to be later this week a municipal team of technicians had managed to be ahead of schedule.
He said the team had been working around the clock since the incident was reported.
“Consumers are assured that the City will pull out all stops to restore water to all affected customers. The City apologises for the inconvenience caused by this unplanned water supply interruption,” Mashigo said.
Tshwane dispatched 10 water tankers to provide water to various areas and healthcare facilities in and around Sunnyside.
The affected areas were Sunnyside, Arcadia and south of the Pretoria CBD, including Jacaranda Hospital, Heart Hospital, Muelmed Hospital and Pretoria Eye Institute.
Pretoria News