Tue Sep 17 05:50:11 UTC 2024: ## Johannesburg Hospital Faces Water Crisis Amid Citywide Outage
**Johannesburg, South Africa** – Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital is facing a severe water crisis as a result of a citywide outage impacting a large portion of the city. The hospital, a major medical facility, has been significantly affected by the water supply challenges, according to Johannesburg Water.
Technical teams were dispatched to the hospital on Monday night to work on solutions to boost their water supply. The hospital experienced low water pressure starting early Monday morning, due to Johannesburg Water cutting off the supply to the facility’s bulk water tanks on Friday.
As a result of the water shortage, the hospital has been forced to prioritize emergency cases and divert all elective surgeries to nearby facilities. Alternative water supply has been secured from Johannesburg Water, supplemented by bottled water.
The water crisis in Johannesburg is attributed to a combination of poor supply and high demand, resulting in critically low water levels in several reservoirs. This has led to poor pressure or no water in many areas, including Carlswald, Roosevelt Park, Killarney, Hyde Park, and Illovo, some of which have been without water for up to six days.
Johannesburg Water is investigating the cause of the sudden poor supply and high demand, while also working to address airlocks in the system. The utility is reconfiguring the reservoirs to boost incoming supply but has not provided an estimated time of restoration.
The situation highlights a growing concern in Johannesburg, where residents are consuming water faster than bulk water distributor Rand Water can deliver. According to Rand Water, Johannesburg loses an estimated 40% to 50% of its water due to leaks and other issues.
The hospital’s situation underscores the severity of the water crisis facing the city and emphasizes the need for a long-term solution to address water scarcity in the area.
First Piper 