A massive water outage has hit many Johannesburg areas as Rand Water is in the process of carrying out planned maintenance. The 58-hour-long shutdown, affecting over 100 Johannesburg areas, started yesterday 11 July at 19:00.
In light of the recent cholera outbreak killing 47 people, most of them in Gauteng, the latest water crisis might have dire health consequences.
According to Rand Water, the maintenance includes the replacement of multiple valves at the Vereeniging water treatment plant, the Eikenhof booster pumping station, and the Zuikerbosch water treatment plant.
The water supplier encouraged residents ahead of time to store water, however, many residents have complained that they did not get enough time to store an adequate supply of water.
With the main areas affected being Randburg, Soweto, and Johannesburg Central, Health For Mzansi spoke to a few residents who are underwhelmed by the ongoing water outage.
Not enough time to plan
Residing in Soweto, Kabelo Malefane says he wished he knew more about the water outage earlier so he could make enough alternatives for his family and his pets.
“It came as a shock that there would be a shutdown starting July 11th. I feel we were not alerted earlier or given enough time to ensure that we would indeed be secured with enough water during the shutdown.
“We have experienced water shutdowns previously, and we were deeply worried because we were never told when the water was going to disappear or return. It was bad because we had to go to rivers to get water to sustain ourselves. We hope it will come back according to the dates,” he says.
‘We will get sick’
Elate Mlonka from Randburg says being without water for a day alone is a struggle for her household. She fears what will happen in 58 hours but is trying to find solutions to sustain them for the duration of the outage.
“We recently had no water for a day, and it was very hard, especially with the kids; with no water to drink or flush the toilet. My main concern when there is no water is the bathrooms. I can’t imagine how it will be without water for so long. We will get sick,” she says.
Furthermore, Rand Water said that the full recovery of the system to full capacity after the shutdown may take up to five days or even as long as 14 days for some areas after the supply has been restored. They, however, assured that alternative water supply at hospitals, clinics, schools, municipal offices, police stations, and shopping centres will be arranged.
Follow these tips
Meanwhile, residents have to make sure they limit health risks as much as possible.
Water outages may affect sanitation, health, and one’s normal way of doing things. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shares a few tips to cope without water.
- Double up on hand sanitation.
- Take a “sponge bath” using a washcloth and soap. Or use no-rinse baby wipes.
- Stock up on disposable plates, cups, and eating utensils. Cleaning up after meals will be a challenge and will use a lot of water.
- Clean with cloths and rags, not sponges.
- Dispose of toilet paper in a wastebasket and not in the toilet. This will prevent your toilet from backing up because it is crammed with paper.
How to safely store water
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, preparing for an emergency by creating and storing a supply of water that will meet your family’s needs is important. So if you were fortunate enough to store enough water for the water outage, here are a few tips to consider for safely storing water for future usage:
- Label the container “drinking water” and include the storage date.
- Observe the expiration date for store-bought water.
- If you are filling containers with water to store, replace the water every six months.
- Keep containers in a place with a cool temperature.
- Keep containers away from direct sunlight.
- Keep containers away from areas where toxic substances, such as gasoline or pesticides, are present.
- If using a scoop or other device, use a clean one each time you remove water from the container to avoid contaminating the water.
- Do not touch the water or the insides of the container with your hands.
- Do not scoop out water with your hands.
ALSO READ: Cholera: Vaccines help, but clean water remains No 1 deterrent
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