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Gauteng on high water alert: MEC

───   07:10 Wed, 01 Oct 2014

Gauteng on high water alert: MEC | News Article

Johannesburg - Gauteng's provincial leaders are on high alert and ready to respond to water-related problems that may re-surface in the near future, co-operative governance MEC Jacob Mamabolo said on Tuesday.

"We need to be on high alert for any eventuality given that this problem is highly difficult to predict," Mamabolo said in a statement.

"Our success will depend on how we work together with all the affected stakeholders and how we all manage the flow of information to ordinary members of our communities."

He said a special task team was set up, made up of infrastructure mayoral committee members and members of Eskom, to monitor the situation and initiate emergency response action that may be required in future.

Areas still in need of close monitoring included Diepsloot, Midrand, Tsakane and Etwatwa. They would be visited by teams on Wednesday to establish facts, he said.

Cable theft was costing municipalities millions to replace.

Tshwane had lost about R40 million while Johannesburg lost an estimated R100 million annually, Mamabolo said.

The monitoring of reservoirs and the provision of generators were also highly essential.

Earlier, there were reports that some residents in the north and west of Johannesburg were still without water.

Rand Water urged affected residents to contact the utility's hotline.

"If there are certain [affected] areas, you will find that it is at the municipal level and we advise that they call the call centres," Rand Water spokesman Justice Mohale said.

By Monday night, water had been restored to all affected areas, he said.

Rand Water is a bulk distributor which supplies water to municipalities.

Joburg Water spokeswoman Millicent Kabwe said she was unaware of any water problems in the West Rand, but said there was a burst water pipe reported in Cedar, north of Johannesburg, in the morning.

"We had a burst pipe in the Cedar area, so we switched off the water. They are busy repairing it. Water is not back yet."

Kabwe could not say how long the repairing process would take.

Sapa

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