Jozi faces dry long weekend

Affected areas will be provided with alternative supply through tankers.

- Marizka Coetzer, Oratile Mashilo and Enkosi Selane

Several suburbs in Johannesburg are facing a weekend without water as Rand Water begins an 86-hour water shutdown tomorrow. This, the utility said, is to perform essential maintenance.

Among the areas that will likely be without water are: Soweto, Randburg, Roodepoort, Brixton, Crosby, Hursthill, Lenasia, and parts of Johannesburg central. These areas are fed from the Eikenhof Pump Station.

Maintenance will run from 7am tomorrow till Monday.

Those in: Crown Gardens, Eagles Nest Reservoir, Parktown, Berea, Forrest Hill, Alan Manor, Naturena, Aeroton, Orlando East, as well as the Hector Norris Pump Station may experience low to no water supply until Saturday.

Rand Water said the maintenance was "for the purpose of achieving improved plant availability, reliability, and efficiencies towards a flexible system".

Affected areas will be provided with alternative water supply through water tankers.

"The maintenance work is typically scheduled during periods of low demand," said Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo yesterday.