A number of schools shut down yesterday and hospitals prioritised emergency surgeries only due to the water outage.
Selborne Primary School principal Douglas Voke said when they ran out of water yesterday they ended the school day early and cancelled all classes and sport for the day. “It would not be viable to have pupils here without water but we will know later today and we’ll let them know,” said Voke yesterday.
East London Science College managing director Pierce Thomas said that school ended at 11am yesterday but pupils would return today and would be sent back if the water is still out.
Roy Hewett, headmaster at Hudson Park High school, said while they had made alternative arrangements for hostel pupils for last night, regular school hours remained in force.
Pupils from St John’s Primary School were turned away when they arrived for class yesterday morning after being told there was no water. Teachers said the school would reopen when the water supply returned to normal.
Pupils from Parkside Primary and AW Barnes were sent home soon after school was due to start at 8am.
An alert went out on the D6 school communicator app yesterday posted by Clarendon Preparatory School which read: “There will be no school for the girls tomorrow due to the water crisis.”
Walter Sisulu University students in Southernwood yesterday were seen at Eastern Beach bathing and brushing their teeth using sea water.
Philahlumelo Goniwe and her roommates took a bar of soap and their toothpaste, brushes and face cloths down to the beach to “freshen up”.
Ailsa Thorpe, communications officer for the Life Health Care Group, said Life Healthcare hospitals in the area were affected but their hospitals had their own water reservoirs.
“In addition, we are obtaining water via tankers that are continuing to keep the backup supplies on site at levels to minimise the impact on our service delivery,” said Thorpe.
Frere Hospital CEO Rolene Wagner said on Monday afternoon the facility had switched over to the hospital’s 440000 litre backup reservoir system, which could run for 24 hours.
The hospital’s maternity unit, which relies on a separate supply line outside of the backup reservoir system, had to be linked into this emergency supply.
“Upon reviewing the potential impact of an extended water interruption, a decision was made to connect the maternity unit to the reservoir system.
“There was no interruption of services at the maternity unit during the night.”
She added that BCM had deployed at least two water tankers to assist the hospital throughout the day.
The hospital’s laundry operates on a separate water supply line and this had been affected by the water outage.
Wagner said the green linen laundry required for theatre was yesterday sent to Cecilia Makiwane hospital as an interim measure.
“In anticipation of the water problem persisting a decision has been made to connect the laundry up to the reservoir system. Doing so, however, will place another, significantly increased demand on the 440000l reservoir capacity,” said Wagner.
Water cuts hit schools and hospitals
Selborne Primary School principal Douglas Voke said when they ran out of water yesterday they ended the school day early and cancelled all classes and sport for the day. “It would not be viable to have pupils here without water but we will know later today and we’ll let them know,” said Voke yesterday.
East London Science College managing director Pierce Thomas said that school ended at 11am yesterday but pupils would return today and would be sent back if the water is still out.
Roy Hewett, headmaster at Hudson Park High school, said while they had made alternative arrangements for hostel pupils for last night, regular school hours remained in force.
Pupils from St John’s Primary School were turned away when they arrived for class yesterday morning after being told there was no water. Teachers said the school would reopen when the water supply returned to normal.
Pupils from Parkside Primary and AW Barnes were sent home soon after school was due to start at 8am.
An alert went out on the D6 school communicator app yesterday posted by Clarendon Preparatory School which read: “There will be no school for the girls tomorrow due to the water crisis.”
Walter Sisulu University students in Southernwood yesterday were seen at Eastern Beach bathing and brushing their teeth using sea water.
Philahlumelo Goniwe and her roommates took a bar of soap and their toothpaste, brushes and face cloths down to the beach to “freshen up”.
Ailsa Thorpe, communications officer for the Life Health Care Group, said Life Healthcare hospitals in the area were affected but their hospitals had their own water reservoirs.
“In addition, we are obtaining water via tankers that are continuing to keep the backup supplies on site at levels to minimise the impact on our service delivery,” said Thorpe.
Frere Hospital CEO Rolene Wagner said on Monday afternoon the facility had switched over to the hospital’s 440000 litre backup reservoir system, which could run for 24 hours.
The hospital’s maternity unit, which relies on a separate supply line outside of the backup reservoir system, had to be linked into this emergency supply.
“Upon reviewing the potential impact of an extended water interruption, a decision was made to connect the maternity unit to the reservoir system.
“There was no interruption of services at the maternity unit during the night.”
She added that BCM had deployed at least two water tankers to assist the hospital throughout the day.
The hospital’s laundry operates on a separate water supply line and this had been affected by the water outage.
Wagner said the green linen laundry required for theatre was yesterday sent to Cecilia Makiwane hospital as an interim measure.
“In anticipation of the water problem persisting a decision has been made to connect the laundry up to the reservoir system. Doing so, however, will place another, significantly increased demand on the 440000l reservoir capacity,” said Wagner.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos