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54-hour Joburg Water Cuts: GDE Says Schools Not Affected By Water Disruptions

THE Gauteng Department of Education said it had not yet experienced water disruptions at schools in and around Johannesburg.

This comes after Water utility Rand Water announced planned water interruptions starting on Monday.

Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabonasaid although no water challenges were experienced most schools had boreholes in place.

Mabona said on Monday: “Because this is a planned project, they (schools) were advised to stockpile water. They utilised different mechanisms to stockpile water. But on the other hand, parents are encouraged to give children water bottles so that after writing their assessments, they are then released.”

He said it was fortunate that maintenance was being done during examination periods when pupils were not expected to be at school for a full day, but were expected to leave after writing exams.

The water cuts were due to maintenance to infrastructure and were expected to last for 54 hours.

According to Rand Water, their bulk water supplier is working on its raw water pipe that supplies the Vereeniging water purification plant.

Rand Water said maintenance would affect the water supply from the Rand Water Eikenhof pump station to the south of Johannesburg, the CBD, and the northern and western areas. It said the water supply will be reduced by 25%.

The planned water cuts have also affected the courts in the municipal area.

Proceedings at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg will come to a halt until Thursday.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said in a short statement, “Kindly note that due to water cuts, matters sitting in (the Gauteng) High Court (in Johannesburg) that were set down from Monday to Wednesday will be postponed to Thursday.”

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