Johannesburg – There will be a full water shutdown in Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, for a number of nights to enable reservoir levels to build up and stabilise, a city official said on Thursday.

The shutdowns would be from 22:00 to 05:00, starting on Friday, Sol Plaatje municipality spokesperson Sello Matsie said.

Recurring problems with the main pipeline at the Riverton water treatment plant had caused a substantial loss in pumping hours. This had led to a larger than expected drop in the water level at the Newton reservoir.

“To enable us to build up the water levels again and to stabilise it at an acceptable level, we have to put measures in place to achieve this as soon as possible,” Matsie said.

Residents would be notified when the water levels were restored.

“An appeal is made to all water users in Kimberley to conserve water as much as possible over this period,” he said.

– SAPA