72-hour water outage: Areas affected

Several areas across Cape Town will undergo a 72-hour interruption in their water supply, starting Sunday night at 24:00.

This is to allow the City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate to do essential maintenance to its water supply network. Residents will have no water from midnight 24 June, until midnight on Wednesday evening, 26 June.

According to the department, this work will ensure that the City’s pipe infrastructure is in the best possible condition for years to an important section of the water supply network, which includes replacing faulty valves.

“Despite the temporary inconvenience, the long-lasting benefits are necessary to best ensure service delivery in a growing city.”

Why is it going to take 72 hours?

The duration of the water supply disruption is due to:

the size and scale of the pipe network
the time it takes to clear the pipeline so it is safe for the maintenance team to work on and
the time is taken for the pipeline to fill afterwards to build up sufficient pressure to supply water across the affected network when the work is completed.

“We do sincerely regret the inconvenience this will cause to many of our residents, but delaying this work has the potential for even greater risk to our water supply in the near future.”

Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, says previously the City worked on their bulk water supply network. This time, work is being done to its reticulation network, which is the pipes that bring water to properties.

no water - water supply outage time table

What all affected residents should do:

BEFORE MONDAY 24 JUNE 2024

Store water in clean, sealed containers, and/or in sinks or baths where possible.
Where possible, try to do laundry before Monday

FROM MONDAY, 24 JUNE TO WEDNESDAY, 26 JUNE 2024

Use water sparingly in this period, only for essential use
Consider a “cowboy splash” or “top and tail” or ‘waskom’ wash for body washing. Use a bucket or large plastic bowl of water to wipe yourself down.
Use greywater from washing to flush toilets.
Use a bucket or bowl in the sink to wash dishes. Do not fill the whole sink with water.
Spot-clean clothes where necessary.
You will not be able to hose down hard-surfaced or paved areas with municipal tap water.
Alternative water coming directly from boreholes and well-points should not be used for drinking, cooking (and food preparation) or body washing, as it is not treated municipal tap water and it could be contaminated.
You will not be able to water gardens or top up swimming pools with tap water, as these are not essential use.
Make sure your geyser is turned off for the duration of the pipeline maintenance period to prevent any damage.
Ensure that all taps are closed to prevent water loss and/or damage when the supply is restored.
Only use drinking water from the City’s network (stored or from the water tanker) or bottled water
Do not collect water from the scour valves, which will be opened at certain times to allow for flushing out sediments and debris from the system.

Available water tankers will be deployed throughout the three days for emergency relief to the affected residents. Six water tankers with limited capacity will be located in key areas. Some residents will need to travel to collect water.

The City has encouraged residents to plan well ahead of the water outage by storing water beforehand, before the shut off. This, combined with water saving measures will reduce/eliminate the need to collect water.

Below are the locations of where water tankers will be stationed:

Please be mindful that if tankers have left the site during the day, they have left to refill the tanker. Residents are encouraged to remain calm whilst tankers are refilling.

“in the planning for this operation, roaming tankers were considered but given the limited capacity to effectively manage resources this was not deemed viable.”

WHEN COLLECTING WATER FROM TANKERS:

Water from City tankers is safe to drink. It has been tested.
Store water in clean, sealed containers
Be mindful of your neighbours who also need water- only collect what you need
Be patient- you will be served
Tankers will be available for all three days.

The five sites where the maintenance work will take place are regarded as construction sites and non-workers should refrain from visiting it.

“Residents must please remain clear of the sites as heavy duty machinery will be in operation and may cause harm to those not permitted to access the area.”