UPDATE: Alberton North and Florentia water crisis ends after hidden pipe burst and major leak repaired
City of Ekurhuleni’s water department uncovered multiple infrastructure faults, including a major leak on a bulk supply line and an underground burst pipe hidden beneath a stormwater drain, before water supply was restored on May 30.
Water supply was restored to most residents in Alberton North and Florentia on May 30, after days of investigations and repair work by the City of Ekurhuleni’s water department.
The restoration follows an outage that left some residents without water and others experiencing extremely low pressure since May 22.
According to Ward 37 councillor Ivan Naidoo, municipal teams conducted extensive investigations to identify the cause of the prolonged supply disruption.
The department conducted valve inspections and checked for leaks throughout the area after the complaints were first reported.
Investigations were also conducted at the Zeerman meter in Southcrest and at the Alberton North reservoir.
Officials identified a problem with the pressure-reducing valve (PRV) at the reservoir and replaced the PRV diaphragm to boost pressure. However, the repair did not significantly improve the water supply to the affected streets.
Further investigations on May 25 led teams to discover a major leak on a bulk pipeline supplying both the reservoir and parts of Alberton North.
According to a media statement shared by the City of Ekurhuleni, access issues and rocks on top of the pipe made it difficult to finalise work.
Specialised equipment was brought in to break through the rocky ground and repairs to the bulk pipeline were completed on Friday evening.
Naidoo said the leak near the N12 was repaired at about 19:00 on Friday and water was reopened, with the department initially expecting full pressure to return within three hours.
“However, on Saturday morning, water was still not restored; the department then investigated along the main line and found an underground burst pipe on Jacoba Road that was leaking into a stormwater drain and was not visible from the surface.
“Once the burst pipe was repaired, water supply began returning to affected areas,” Naidoo explained.
Resident Nellie Eybers confirmed that water was finally restored to her home at about 13:00 on Saturday.
Izak Berg also confirmed that water had largely been restored across the area. He noted that three to four flats were still experiencing supply issues and that the city was continuing to investigate those cases.
The city thanked residents for their patience and apologised for the inconvenience caused during the prolonged outage.
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