A power interruption followed by a pipeline burst resulted in major water cuts to several areas in Buffalo City Metro (BCM) this week.
BCM said around 2000 households were affected in areas including Bhisho, Sweetwaters, parts of King William’s Town, Ilitha, Berlin, Mabeleni, Nqonqweni, Mncotsho, Needs Camp, Msintsini, Khayelitsha, Qongqotha, Tshabo and Mount Coke.
Late yesterday BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said the water supply had been restored to Ilitha, Berlin, Bhisho and surrounding areas, although the pressure could still be low in high-lying areas.
A media statement sent by Matebese on Tuesday said Amatola Water’s main reservoirs, which supplies the bulk of the water to these areas, was low due to a power break on Monday at the Laing Water Treatment Works. This resulted in little or no water distribution.
Matebese said the municipality was assisting with water tankers in critically affected areas, adding that the system may take two to five days to fully recover.
“We had four 15000 litre water trucks delivering at least six water loads on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
He said the reservoirs were gradually improving and supply had been restored to some urban areas.
Amatola Water chief executive Lefadi Makibinyane said according to the operations manager at the two affected reservoirs, Beacon Hill and Bhisho, water levels dropped when Eskom power went off on Monday from 3pm to 6pm.
Makibinyane said after power was restored the Laing plant was fully operational at around 8pm and was pumping water to these main reservoirs.
He said two water lines feeding the Beacon Hill and Bhisho reservoirs had burst on Tuesday, causing further problems.
“These two pipes were repaired at 4am the next day and the water was restored to these reservoirs,” said Makibinyane.
“As we speak the Beacon Hill Reservoir is at 39% and water is pumping towards the affected areas. Bhisho reservoir will recover during the night to a safe level of operations.”
Makibinyane said it was difficult to prevent these types of outages because the weather played a critical role.
“These are external factors that Amatola Water does not have any control over. Amatola Water can ensure the community that we will do everything possible to restore any water outage as quickly as humanly possible,” Makibinyane said.
As a result of the outages, operations at the Bhisho Legislature came to a halt when staff were sent home early.
On Tuesday the staff reportedly went home at 1pm and yesterday they were sent home at 11am.
Speaking to the Dispatch at around 2pm yesterday, the DA’s shadow MEC for Safety and Security Bobby Stevenson said the water supply had not been restored yet.
“The water failures were impacting on the ability of businesses and institutions to operate.”
Stevenson said the toilets at the legislature were out of order.
“This is totally unhygienic. This impacts negatively on our ability to to operate effectively,” Stevenson said.
Power loss results in water cuts
BCM said around 2000 households were affected in areas including Bhisho, Sweetwaters, parts of King William’s Town, Ilitha, Berlin, Mabeleni, Nqonqweni, Mncotsho, Needs Camp, Msintsini, Khayelitsha, Qongqotha, Tshabo and Mount Coke.
Late yesterday BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said the water supply had been restored to Ilitha, Berlin, Bhisho and surrounding areas, although the pressure could still be low in high-lying areas.
A media statement sent by Matebese on Tuesday said Amatola Water’s main reservoirs, which supplies the bulk of the water to these areas, was low due to a power break on Monday at the Laing Water Treatment Works. This resulted in little or no water distribution.
Matebese said the municipality was assisting with water tankers in critically affected areas, adding that the system may take two to five days to fully recover.
“We had four 15000 litre water trucks delivering at least six water loads on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
He said the reservoirs were gradually improving and supply had been restored to some urban areas.
Amatola Water chief executive Lefadi Makibinyane said according to the operations manager at the two affected reservoirs, Beacon Hill and Bhisho, water levels dropped when Eskom power went off on Monday from 3pm to 6pm.
Makibinyane said after power was restored the Laing plant was fully operational at around 8pm and was pumping water to these main reservoirs.
He said two water lines feeding the Beacon Hill and Bhisho reservoirs had burst on Tuesday, causing further problems.
“These two pipes were repaired at 4am the next day and the water was restored to these reservoirs,” said Makibinyane.
“As we speak the Beacon Hill Reservoir is at 39% and water is pumping towards the affected areas. Bhisho reservoir will recover during the night to a safe level of operations.”
Makibinyane said it was difficult to prevent these types of outages because the weather played a critical role.
“These are external factors that Amatola Water does not have any control over. Amatola Water can ensure the community that we will do everything possible to restore any water outage as quickly as humanly possible,” Makibinyane said.
As a result of the outages, operations at the Bhisho Legislature came to a halt when staff were sent home early.
On Tuesday the staff reportedly went home at 1pm and yesterday they were sent home at 11am.
Speaking to the Dispatch at around 2pm yesterday, the DA’s shadow MEC for Safety and Security Bobby Stevenson said the water supply had not been restored yet.
“The water failures were impacting on the ability of businesses and institutions to operate.”
Stevenson said the toilets at the legislature were out of order.
“This is totally unhygienic. This impacts negatively on our ability to to operate effectively,” Stevenson said.
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