Residents in Hammanskraal and surrounding areas are bracing for another water outage after the City of Tshwane warned of impending water supply interruptions in the area due to technical challenges at the Temba Water Treatment Plant.
This comes a month after the plant was shut down due to water quality challenges from the Leeuwkraal Dam, resulting in serious water shortage for weeks in the area.
Municipal spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the interruption to the plant operation was due to technical challenges experienced on the granular activated carbon filters since Monday.
“The filters cannot be backwashed, which causes clogging, resulting in an overflow. A team of technicians is working on resolving the problem. Furthermore, the city has enlisted the services of a specialist with a view to speedily resolve this challenge,” he said.
He said the reservoir levels have dropped due to the absence of pumping at the said plant and was expected to get depleted by noon yesterday should water consumption exceed the currently available supply.
The areas likely to be affected by possible water supply interruption included Sekampaneng, Hammanskraal West, Hammanskraal North and surrounding areas.
Mashigo said: “Residents will be kept abreast of developments. The city apologises for this unforeseen interruption of water supply.”
On October 7, 2024 the plant was closed after municipal technicians discovered that there was sewer contamination in the dam.
"These challenges were caused by a fire that gutted the Pyramid substation on October 2 2024, leaving the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works without electricity. The plant had to temporarily cease operations and, consequently, discharged untreated sewage into the Apies River, which feeds the Leeuwkraal Dam," the City said at the time.
Last week, residents across many parts of Tshwane were left without running water owing to a power trip at Rand Water’s Palmiet Pump Station.
The affected areas were Olievenhoutbosch, Lotus Gardens, Thatchfield, parts of Soshanguve, Atteridgeville, Laudium and parts of Mabopane.
The water problem reportedly forced the Soshanguve Campus of Tshwane University of Technology to postpone its Monday exams.
On Tuesday morning, the City posted on its social media platforms that at the Soshanguve L reservoir, the tower zone pumps had tripped and a team was dispatched and restarted the pumps which are now operating.
In a media statement the City said it was delighted to notice a significant improvement in most of the reservoirs’ levels after some of them ran empty last week.
Pretoria News