According to a statement released by the Democratic Alliance in Mangaung, the northern suburbs of Bloemfontein will start receiving water during the course of the day, as Centlec has managed to repair the 33kVA line. 

“Power has been restored to the Maselspoort Waterworks Plant. Currently, the plant is pumping water to both the Hamilton and Arboretum reservoirs. Due to the low water levels, the pressure is weak but it will normalise during the course of the day,” according to the statement. 

However, residents in the south of the city will remain without water for an unknown time, as the Brandkop Reservoir is still facing an imminent supply shutdown. At the moment, the water supply remains under pressure.

ALSO READ: Some Mangaung residents face water cuts

A statement from the party was released in the late hours of Wednesday 1 February 2023, informing residents that the Bloem Water Plant will be shut down for 24 hours, and due to this, the Brandkop reservoir will run empty by the morning of 2 February 2023. 

The Maselspoort Plant was also affected at the time due to a faulty 33kVA line.

Earlier in the year, residents of Soutpan and Ikgomotseng in Bloemfontein were told to brace themselves for a water interruption on Friday 6 January 2023. 

According to the Mangaung Metro Municipality's spokesperson, Qondile Khedama, the water interruptions are mainly due to the planned power outages by Eskom for maintenance purposes. Khedama added that the interruption is expected to take place from 08:00 until 18:00. 

The municipality has since apologised for the inconvenience. Free State residents across different towns and cities have recently had to deal with constant water supply interruptions due to either burst pipes or maintenance of infrastructure. Load-shedding and load-reduction also contributed to water-shedding as there was not sufficient power to pump water.

At the time of publishing, Bloem Water had not replied to OFM News’ enquiry about the recent water cuts in the city.

OFM News