The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Thapelo Amad, has assured people that the water is safe to drink.
This comes after a video circulating on social media this week showed a resident seeing blue water upon opening the tap.
The newly elected mayor stated that in response to the reports, Joburg Water initiated an inquiry to determine the cause of the problem and collected a sample at Sontonga Lofts in Braamfontein on 1 February 2023.
Amad stated that the water was clear and not blue when the samples were taken.
“The complainant later confirmed on social media that just their unit had blue water, which was caused by an internal plumbing issue. The interior problems were treated by a private plumber. Amad stated that Johannesburg Water was in the process of contacting both the consumer and the plumber to determine what caused the situation.s
Since the beginning of the year, when Rand Water’s total reservoir storage level was 76% on 8 January 2023, according to Amad, the City of Johannesburg has experienced water delivery issues.
On January 13, 2023, power outages at the Zuikerbosch purification plant and the Eikenhof pump station aggravated the situation, which had been deteriorating since January 9 of that year.
This had a significant impact on the Crosby, Brixton, and Hurst Hill Reservoir 1 and 2 supply zones, which cover wards 58, 69, 86, and 87 in the City of Johannesburg, according to the Mayor.
Amad announced that the City of Johannesburg, through Joburg Water, has invested just over R400 million, which will be used over the next 18 months to build and upgrade bulk water infrastructure, particularly along the Commando system (Crosby and Brixton), where water shortages are always the most severe.
A number of suburbs have had little to no water as a result of rolling blackouts and diminished supply.
»Is Johannesburg water safe to drink? – what we know:«