The water-shedding crisis deepened recently as the Newcastle Local Municipality confirmed two simultaneous reservoir failures that left at least seven suburbs with little to no water.
In a Water Supply Interruption Update issued on 16 October, the municipality advised residents that the Signal Hill Reservoir remained closed.
“We have not yet achieved the level we need to adequately supply all areas supplied by it,” the municipality stated.
The municipality confirmed that the following areas remained affected: Aviary Hill, Signal Hill, Schuinshoogte and Upper Hutten Heights.
Water tankers were still being dispatched to the affected areas to provide relief, while technical teams continued to monitor reservoir levels closely.
“Supply would be restored as soon as levels were sufficient. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience,” the municipality said.
At the same time, residents in Ward 4 continued to face planned daily water shedding linked to low levels at the Northdown Reservoir.
Democratic Alliance Ward 4 Councillor Bertie Meiring informed residents through his official communication channels that water supply interruptions would now occur daily.
“I discussed the situation with the technicians from Water Services. They are still struggling with the level of the Northdown Reservoir,” Meiring said.
He explained that although water was being pumped at maximum capacity, the reservoir was still not filling to capacity.
“They are now checking all the valves on the line because many are old and they struggle to open the valves to their maximum,” he explained.
For now, the municipality has been closing the water supply lines to Hutten Heights, Amiel Park and the lower parts of Pioneer Park daily at the following times:
• 9am: Water supply closed
• 3pm: Water supply reopened
• 9pm: Water supply closed
• 3am: Water supply reopened
Meiring said residents should expect their water supply to be interrupted mainly during the day and that the process would continue until the entire system had been fixed.
Across both supply zones, residents said they had endured intermittent or no water supply for more than a month, with little to no direct communication from the municipality regarding restoration timelines or a fixed tanker schedule.
The Newcastle Express had contacted the Newcastle Local Municipality on numerous occasions for comment regarding the ongoing water shedding, restoration timelines and tanker deployment. At the time of going to print, calls to the municipality went unanswered, and no response had been received to queries sent to the Communications and Customer Relations Unit.
