Notice Archive

George Municipality’s Civil Engineering Services has made significant progress in restoring water supply following recent storm-related damage and power outages.
RESTORATION PROGRESS
• The Western Bypass main pipeline has been successfully repaired and is back in operation.
• Power supply to the Boardwalk pump station in Wilderness has been restored, and the pump has just been started.
• Water supply has been restored to:
o Kraaibosch
o Victoria Bay
o Victoria Heights
o Welgelegen
Residents in these areas may experience a delay before normal pressure is fully restored as reservoirs refill and the system stabilises.

CURRENT WATER SUPPLY STATUS
Uniondale – Rietvlei
The Rietvlei area remains without running water after the main water supply line was washed away during recent heavy rainfall.
A water tanker is currently on site in Rietvlei to provide water to affected residents.

UNPLANNED WATER OUTAGES DUE TO FALLEN TREES
Municipal teams continue to attend to localised outages caused by fallen trees that damaged water infrastructure.
Areas affected include:
• Denver Park
• Sprigg Street, Twee Rivieren
• Glenwood
Teams are on site clearing fallen trees and repairing damaged pipelines to restore supply as quickly as possible.
Several reservoirs are still recovering following the outages. Residents are urged to continue using water sparingly.
REPORT WATER AND STORMWATER ISSUES
For water and stormwater-related queries, residents may contact Civil Engineering Services Customer Care:
• 044 801 9262 / 044 801 9266 (07:45–16:30)
• 044 801 9354 (07:45–16:30)
• 044 801 6300 (after hours)
Please note that telephone lines may be unclear due to the current disaster situation and the high volume of calls. Residents are kindly requested to be patient and to call again if they are unable to hear the operator clearly.

People getting water from the George Civil Engineering water tanker in Wilderness Heights earlier.

Civil Engineering staff hard at work removing a tree out of an access road to a pump station.

All technical and operational departments of George Municipality remain on full activation following the severe weather events experienced across George and surrounding areas from Wednesday, 6 May to present.

Civil Engineering Services has mobilised internal teams together with ad hoc emergency contractors to respond to water outages caused by burst pipelines following fallen trees, as well as major repair work required on the Western Bypass 1000mm pipeline and other infrastructure damaged or washed away during the recent storm period, which included severe flooding last week and extreme winds this week.

The Municipality also received generous donations of gunplast sheeting from members of the public and several contractors to assist affected communities, for which we are sincerely appreciative. Special thanks are extended to WJ Civils, Entsha Henra, Babcon, Urhwebo Transand, Phambili Civils and Coastal Armature for their support during this difficult period.

The Community Services Directorate mobilised Parks and Recreation teams to assist with the clearing of fallen trees in collaboration with George Fire and Disaster Services, who responded to numerous emergency incidents throughout the storm period. Additional assistance was provided by Darryl Sauer of Gwaing Trading, who assisted with tree removal operations in Heatherlands. External service providers have also been called in to assist with the large-scale task of clearing roads and public spaces across George and surrounding areas. A significant number of reservists and neighbourhood watch members continue to assist within their respective communities with the removal of fallen trees and support operations.

Humanitarian organisations and community groups, together with Municipal Social Development, also played a valuable role in supporting residents affected by the storms. Love George, Gift of the Givers, as well as various George businesses and individuals, graciously assisted with donations and the supply of essential items to residents severely affected by the flooding and high winds experienced during the past week.

Electrical Engineering Services mobilised both High Voltage and Low Voltage internal teams, together with available service providers, to respond to the large number of electricity-related complaints and outages experienced since Monday. There is still a high volume of power outages being attended to, and we extend our appreciation to the public for their patience and understanding as municipal officials and emergency teams continue working under difficult conditions to restore services as quickly and safely as possible.

Traffic Services, Law Enforcement and Anti-Land Invasion officials were also fully mobilised to monitor road conditions, assess flooding impacts and assist where required. Refuse collection staff and EPWP workers who were unable to continue with normal duties due to weather conditions were redeployed to emergency response operations as directed by the George Disaster Joint Operations Centre (JOC).

The George Disaster JOC continues to monitor the overall situation across George and surrounding areas, including Uniondale, Haarlem and Noll.

George Municipality would like to sincerely thank all of our officials, and every organisation, business, volunteer group, reservist, neighbourhood watch member and individual who stepped forward to assist during this difficult period. The collective support received from across the community has played a significant role in helping restore services, assist affected residents and improve safety conditions as quickly as possible.

George Municipality is attending to several weather-related water supply disruptions affecting parts of George and Uniondale.

CURRENT WATER SUPPLY STATUS

Kraaibosch and Surrounding Areas
Power supply to the Kraaibosch area was restored this morning. Municipal teams are currently restarting the pump stations. Water supply is expected to be restored later today once the system has stabilised and reservoir levels recover.

Wilderness Heights
Parts of Wilderness Heights are currently without water due to ongoing power outages affecting pump stations. As a result, the pump stations are unable to pump water to the reservoirs supplying the area.

A water tanker will be stationed shortly at Bundu Country Café, Whites Road, Wilderness Heights, to provide water to affected residents.

Uniondale – Rietvlei
The Rietvlei area remains without running water after the main water supply line was washed away during recent heavy rainfall.

A water tanker is currently on site in Rietvlei to provide water to affected residents.

UNPLANNED WATER OUTAGES DUE TO FALLEN TREES

George Municipality is also attending to several unplanned water outages caused by fallen trees that damaged water infrastructure.

Areas affected include:

Denver Park
Sprigg Street, Twee Rivieren
Glenwood
Victoria Bay Heights

Municipal teams are on site clearing fallen trees and repairing damaged pipelines to restore water supply to affected residents as quickly as possible.

WATER CONSERVATION URGED

Several reservoirs remain under strain and water levels are low. Residents across the municipal area are urged to use water sparingly and to adhere to current water restrictions until power supply is fully restored and normal pumping operations resume.

REPORT WATER AND STORMWATER ISSUES

For water and stormwater-related queries, residents may contact Civil Engineering Services Customer Care:

044 801 9262 / 044 801 9266 (07:45–16:30)
044 801 9354 (07:45–16:30)
044 801 6300 (after hours)

George Municipality’s electrical teams remain on site across the municipal area and will continue working throughout the night to restore electricity supply to as many affected areas as possible.

Due to fatigue after extended hours of work, teams are operating with reduced staff during the night shift. Despite this, restoration efforts are continuing.

Additional contractors will join the municipal teams tomorrow to assist in accelerating the repair process.

The Municipality is attending to all outages reported through the official fault reporting channels. Some faults can be resolved relatively quickly, while others are more complex and require more extensive repairs.

Additional teams will also be deployed to Wilderness and Blanco tomorrow to strengthen restoration efforts in these areas.
Residents are thanked for their continued patience and understanding while teams work to restore supply as safely and efficiently as possible.

George Municipality’s electrical teams have made significant progress in restoring electricity supply following extensive weather-related damage to the network.
The 66kV Glenwood line has been successfully repaired and re-energised, enabling power to be restored to a number of areas, including Rosemoor, Aspeling Street and parts of the CBD, parts of George East and parts of Thembalethu. Teams are currently on site in Thembalethu attending to outstanding localised faults.
As the Glenwood Substation is brought back online, additional low-voltage outages may be identified. The Municipality is aware of the urgent need to restore supply to all affected areas and is doing everything possible, with the assistance of appointed contractors, to address remaining faults as quickly and safely as possible.

POWER SUPPLY HAS BEEN RESTORED IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS:
• Airport Line
• Herold’s Bay
• Mooikloof
• Diepkloof
• Portions of Hansmoeskraal
• Gwaiing Sewerage Works
• Bergsig
• Rosemoor
• Aspeling
• Parts Mitchell and Church Streets
Parts of George East is also back on.

HIGH-VOLTAGE NETWORK UPDATE
The 66kV Glenwood line has been repaired and re-energised.

OUTSTANDING LOW-VOLTAGE OUTAGES
Electrical teams are currently attending to low voltage complaints across George.

Today the teams have had success in the CBD area, Pacaltsdorp, Blanco and Thembalethu.
There is currently no estimated time of restoration (ETR) for these localised outages, as the extent of the damage differs from site to site.

REPORT POWER OUTAGES OR LIVE CABLES
Residents are encouraged to report power outages and dangerous situations such as live cables at the after hours numbers 044 801 6300 or 044 801 6311.
George Municipality thanks all residents for their patience and cooperation while teams work to restore services as safely and quickly as possible.

Residents are advised that the high-lift pump station supplying the Kraaibosch Water Tower has been affected by the current power outage.
As a result, water supply interruptions are being experienced in the following areas:Kraaibosch,Welgelegen,Victoria Bay
Victoria Heights, Wilderness Heights and Akela.
A water tanker has been stationed at the BP service station next to the N2 and will remain available until 20:00 this evening.
Water supply will be restored once power is reinstated and the pump station is fully operational.
George Municipality apologises for the inconvenience and thanks residents for their patience and understanding.

Uniondale – Rietvlei does not have water currently due to the main water supply line that washed away. A water truck will be made available.

DENVER Park – water supply in process of being restored. A large tree had to be cut up and removed to allow officials to access the damaged water pipe.

EMERGENCY WORK is required on two main water lines that were unsafe to be attended to yesterday due to downed power lines and unstable trees. They will be attended to today.

Residents are urged to use water sparingly until power is restored and normal pumping operations can resume as several reservoirs are under strain with low levels.

Stormwater and water related issues please contact Civils Related Customer Services 044 801 9262/6 (7.45am-4.30pm) or
044 801 9262/6 or 044 801 9354 (7.45am-4.30pm)
044 801 6300 (after hours)

Issued by George Municipality, 12 May 2026 @ 13:40

George Municipality acknowledges the frustration and inconvenience experienced by residents and businesses affected by the ongoing weather-related power outages across various parts of George.

The Municipality would like to assure the public that all available electrical teams are actively attending to faults and working continuously to restore the electricity supply as safely and as quickly as possible.

The Municipal Electrotechnical Services Department has identified all problematic high-voltage and medium-voltage circuits, and teams are currently attending to these faults. As the high- and medium-voltage faults are repaired, the associated low-voltage circuits are also being restored.

All available teams are deployed on-site and are actively reinstating affected circuits. The damage to the electricity network is widespread, and it is currently not possible to provide accurate estimated times of restoration (ETRs).

It is important to note that, unlike isolated or sporadic outages experienced under normal circumstances, the current outages have been caused by multiple faults occurring simultaneously across the network due to severe weather conditions.

The strong gusting winds have resulted in a range of infrastructure-related faults, including:

• Vegetation and trees falling onto power lines
• Broken poles and overhead lines
• Loose and damaged poles
• Lines lying on the ground
• Single-phase faults
• Faults linked to the damaged Glenwood substation

In several affected areas, damaged poles must be replaced before power can be restored. In many instances, dense vegetation must first be cleared to allow teams safe access to damaged infrastructure to carry out necessary repairs and replacements.

Unfortunately, criminal elements are also taking advantage of the situation to steal electricity infrastructure, which is further complicating restoration efforts.

To accelerate restoration efforts, the Electrotechnical Services Department has appointed two additional contractors to assist municipal teams with fault repairs and the reinstatement of electricity supply.

Residents are encouraged to report any additional electricity-related challenges or faults not already listed or reported to the Municipality.

The Municipality appeals to residents to remain patient and to continue reporting power outages and hazardous electrical infrastructure, such as live cables, via the following channels:
• WhatsApp: 067 553 1728
• Office Switchboard: 044 801 9222 / 044 803 9222 (07:45 – 16:30)
• Customer Care: 044 801 9202 / 9258

Motorists are advised of the following road closures resulting from fallen trees caused by adverse weather conditions:
Outeniqua Pass direction towards George – Traffic is being diverted following a fallen tree obstructing the roadway.
Step Aside Road – Closed to all traffic due to two fallen trees.
R404 / George Road, Blanco – Closed in the direction from Blanco towards the N9 due to a fallen tree.

Municipal teams and emergency services are attending to the affected areas. Road users are requested to avoid these routes where possible and make use of alternative roads.

ROAD SAFETY REMINDER

All motorists are urged to exercise extreme caution during wet and hazardous conditions:
Reduce speed.
Maintain a safe following distance.
Switch on headlights.
Be alert for fallen trees and debris
Do not attempt to drive through barricaded or closed roads.