JOHANNESBURG - Continuously opening taps as soon as water starts flowing again in your home after a shutdown, can disrupt the complete recovery of reservoirs.
This in turn will further delay the return of reliable supply.
This is according to water expert and Executive Manager of WaterCAN Dr. Ferrial Adam, who told eNCA that this behavior can slow down reservoir recovery.
The warning comes as parts of Gauteng grapple with water outages caused by last Friday’s maintenance operation.
Adam says this was expected, as water restoration does not happen immediately, because reservoirs need to be refilled and the supply network stabilised.
“The more people continue to use water and the quicker the reservoir get empty. This also affects people down the line as they will not have water. That is why people need to be mindful when using water so the system can recover quickly,” she said.
She says another factor contributing to delays was reservoir leaks.
“The system is vulnerable and must be treated with caution,” she said.
While residents have the responsibility to use water sparingly, so does local government, including municipalities and Joburg Water.
Adam insists there is a need to deal with leaks urgently.
Rand Water concluded its 86-hour maintenance project on 16 December.
The operation focused on critical repairs and upgrades at the Eikenhof and Zwartkopjes pump stations.
The maintenance left large parts of Gauteng without water, causing widespread frustration among residents in areas like Soweto, Randburg, Roodepoort, Lenasia, and parts of Johannesburg Central.
With the maintenance completed, residents must now endure a waiting game as water restoration begins.
Johannesburg Water Managing Director Ntshavheni Mukwevho says the system needs to build capacity and that low-lying areas would recover first, while high-lying areas may take longer.
He added that part of the efforts of bringing back the system include partially opening the valves.
This however will change in due time to allow for the high-lying areas to be supplied.
Adding to this, Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero says to get the supply to a satisfactory level, certain areas are switched off at night, to allow for a build-up in others.