Khedama tells OFM News that the Maselspoort Treatment Plant is now operational. He adds that the affected areas' water interruptions will be fully restored throughout the course of Friday 12 March 2021. Khedama said the affected areas included the suburbs of Pentagon Park, Heuwelsig, Westdene, and Dan Pienaar. Some areas started receiving water.

DA ward councillor, Selmé Pretorius, confirms that the chemicals used for the pump arrived late yesterday. Before that, water was not being pumped to the Arboretum reservoir.

“They started up the plant during the day. Hopefully, by Monday they will have enough chemicals to keep the thing going, for now, they do have some chemical and they are pumping, currently. People might see a little bit of an improvement but it will take a day or so before it’s noticeably better.”

Furthermore, Pretorius says the water purification process is an intricate one that is seemingly time-consuming. “The minute they start the purification, they have to purify the water then they have to pump it to Bloemfontein, to the reservoirs from there into the network then to the houses and the supply is quite high. So people might see a little bit of an improvement,” says Pretorius.

Khedama concluded by saying the Mangaung Metro apologises for the inconvenience the water shortages may have caused.

OFM News/Lee Simmons and Blaine Jones