The City of Joburg has said it will not be implementing Level 3 water restrictions, despite two other Gauteng metros doing so.

As of today, the City of Ekurhuleni implemented Level 3 restrictions, while City of Tshwane is also going this route in its northern suburbs.

Level 3 water restrictions involves cutting off water supply between 9pm and 5am.

“Johannesburg has taken the decision to stay on Level 2 restrictions at this stage,” Joburg said in a statement.

“The reasons are: it is much better from an engineering point of view to keep a continuous supply in the system as this minimizes bursts caused by water hammer; many businesses depend on continuous 24/7 supply; having supply available at 5am requires valves to be opened much earlier than that and the consequent need to then bleed the system of air as water returns – this has concomitant operational risks,” it added.

Joburg has managed to reduce its water usage by less than 10%, which is below the 15% required by the Department of Water and Sanitation to balance water supply and demand.

“Whilst this is an improvement it is still difficult for Johannesburg Water to balance the system. We therefore appeal to residents to take the Level 2 restrictions seriously as we do not want to go to Level 3,” the city said.

Meanwhile, the department today began releasing water from its reserves in the Sterkfontein Dam into the Vaal Dam, to help stabilise water levels.