Ongoing technical issues at the Molteno Reservoir Pump Station have left several Cape Town suburbs facing low water pressure or no water at all, with repairs taking longer than expected.

READ: Cape Town urges immediate water use reduction amid pump station failure

According to the City of Cape Town, the pump station—serving areas from University Estate to the City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard—was taken offline on Monday, 26 May, following an unexpected mechanical failure affecting both transfer pumps and a faulty transformer.

Despite around-the-clock work by Water and Sanitation teams, a planned restoration on Thursday, 29 May, was delayed when a suction valve was found open during testing. This required a halt in operations and a full assessment of the pump motor. The pump is currently being dismantled due to a mechanical seal issue on the drive side.

While repair work continues, some relief has come from the Kloofnek Water Treatment Plant, which has increased output from 14 to 19 million litres per day. As a result, some areas have regained limited water supply, though at lower pressure.

However, the City has reiterated an urgent call for residents and businesses in affected areas to reduce water usage immediately. Lowering demand will allow for reservoir levels to recover, which is essential for stabilising the supply system over the coming days. Without a drop in consumption, more areas may face further outages.

Affected areas include:

City Bowl and surrounds: Gardens, Oranjezicht, Tamboerskloof, Schotsche Kloof/Bo-Kaap, Higgovale, Upper City Bowl, District Six, Vredehoek

Atlantic Seaboard: Bantry Bay, Fresnaye, Green Point, parts of Sea Point, Camps Bay, Oudekraal

Eastern Suburbs: Walmer Estate, University Estate, Upper Woodstock

Emergency Measures:

Water tankers have been deployed to assist residents without water. Current locations include:

• Bantry Bay: Corner of Ocean View Drive and De Wet Road
• Green Point: Corner of Carreg Crescent and Ocean View Drive
• Bo-Kaap: Yusuf Drive (corner of Bantam Road) and Astana Street
• Gardens: Myrtle Street and Hof Street (in front of Mediclinic)
• Walmer Estate: Corner of Chester and Melbourne Roads

Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien, assured residents that the City is doing everything possible to complete repairs swiftly.

“Our team remains committed to completing this repair as urgently as possible and aims to restore the affected residents’ water supply as soon as possible,” said Badroodien.

“Once repairs are finalised, the system will be recharged, which may take a few hours before full supply is restored. Ward councillors will be kept informed to help keep residents updated.”

For the latest updates and tanker locations, follow @CityofCTAlerts on X (formerly Twitter).