JOHANNESBURG - Residents in parts of Johannesburg have entered a second week without reliable water supply due to a reservoir leak and system failures.
The city says their recovery efforts were delayed by a leak in the Rand Water reservoir supplying much of the metro.
Repairs were completed, and commissioning finalised on Monday.
On Tuesday, fed-up Midrand residents took to the streets to protest, demanding answers as taps in the area have been dry for six days.
READ | 'It’s not fair': Midrand residents frustrated as taps run dry
Joburg Mayor Dada Morero said the leak was identified at Klipfontein reservoir, which meant it had to be shut down for repairs.
“Meaning, at the point of closing, there was no water distributed to the Joburg reservoirs, the Tshwane Reservoir, and parts of Ekurhuleni were not getting supply from the Klipfontein Reservoir of Rand Water,” Morero said.
He said five main reservoirs feeding Midrand were beginning to recover.
“Of course, with President Park reservoir, which is supplying a bigger area, it's been battling to recover. It recovers, then it goes down. The Grand Central reservoir has not recovered at all. It's sitting at about fourteen percent, which is not where we want it to be. We want to get to least forty percent for us to be able to supply water."