Authorities in Johannesburg, South Africa’s commercial hub, attribute the ongoing heatwave to reduced water flow, leaving taps dry for several weeks.
The South African Weather Service issued a warning about excessively high temperatures, with the peak expected on Wednesday. Increased water consumption and declining reservoir levels worsen the city’s water crisis, according to the public water services provider. Johannesburg Water cited hot weather conditions and critically low reservoir levels as causes for reduced flow into Linden 1 and Blairgowrie reservoirs.
To address the situation, the bulk supplier, Rand Water, plans to reconfigure its systems to boost supplies. Water shortages are common in Johannesburg and often lead to protests. The current crisis, which began late last year, has intensified in recent weeks, affecting homes and public facilities.
Aging infrastructure compounds the problem. Lightning damaged a key pump station, disrupting water supply for several days and forcing homes and facilities, including hospitals, to rely on water tankers for supply. Another pump station experienced an outage due to a power failure last weekend.
Source: BBC news