Thousands of Bloemfontein residents were without water on Monday amid reservoir supply problems, which were exacerbated by a pipe burst at the Welbedacht Dam, a Mangaung metropolitan municipality spokesman said.
The city was in consultation with local water authorities to “solicit a better understanding” of the problem, said spokesman Qondile Khedama.
“Our engineers have been able to fix a pipe at Welbedacht Dam,” he said.
The repairs, conducted over the weekend, had affected the water supply in southern parts of Bloemfontein, including Pellisier, parts of Langenhoven Park, Fichart Park, Vista Park, Bloemanda, Namibia, Heidedal, and Rocklands.
The situation was expected to ease by Monday night.
However, taps were still running dry in the city’s northern suburbs after weeks of interruptions.
The municipality announced water restrictions in the city on September 7.
“Most of the major problems experienced involve reduced bulk water supply to the Mangaung area,” said Khedama.
He said some reservoirs were experiencing supply problems, which could lead to low water pressure and an interruption in the water supply.
The situation had put the municipality’s plant at Maselspoort under pressure, which was worsened by the pipe burst.
“We would like to alert the residents of Mangaung that we have not yet uplifted the restrictions,” he said.
The community would be notified when the water levels in the reservoirs improved.
Khedama said the municipality was investigating complaints that the parks and cemetery unit had left roadside sprinklers running despite the restrictions.
“We are aware that some of them have been operational, but we have since alerted officials to adhere to the restrictions imposed,” Khedama said.
On local media websites, many residents indicated they were buying water for household use. Some were using swimming pool water to keep toilets running. – Sapa