Residents in the north of Johannesburg now have access to water, following repairs to a burst pipeline said to be the city's biggest water leak in history.
MMC for environment and infrastructure services Nico de Jager has told HuffPost that utility company Johannesburg Water is in the process of restoring water to all those areas that were affected.
"By 1pm, the water should all be online, although the pressure is going to be very low, because we are only opening at 10% to avoid any further bursts," De Jager said.
De Jager added that the burst pipeline was the result of a weakening in the pipes, caused by the development of a landfill site above the water supply infrastructure.
"There are layers of old rubbish on top of it, and that is why the burst was so deep... and difficult to fix," he added.
Areas affected included Robindale, Darrenwood, Ferndale, Linden, Blairgowrie, Sandton, Bryanston, Morningside, and Woodmead. In some areas, residents noticed water pressure dropping rapidly last week, before they were left with no water at all.
The catastrophic leak saw water use in several areas to the north of the city being restricted, to prevent taps from running dry.
De Jager said that Johannesburg Water, along with Pikitup Johannesburg, will remove the section of the landfill site that caused the problem, and will be advised by an appointed consultant on how to protect the infrastructure going forward.