City slow to respond to leaks in Bedfordview

The residents of Bedfordview have been constantly affected by water outages attributed to the ageing infrastructure.

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On June 6, the residents reported not having water in Senderwood because of a pipe burst in Cheetham.

The next day, large parts of Bedfordview were without water because the reservoir was empty.

The situation lasted three days and resulted in the city stationing a water tanker on Van Buuren Road (Virgin Active).

Currently, more than 10 water leaks (pipe bursts) have been reported, with only one contractor attending to the leaks.

According to ward councillor Jill Humphreys, the ongoing water outages are due to Rand Water pump failures not filling the reservoirs.

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“Once the reservoir is empty, it’s hard to refill it because usage exceeds the inflow.

“We have three reservoirs serving Bedfordview, one in Malvern East, another in Primrose and on Linksfield Ridge,” said Humphreys.

She said another reason was the failing infrastructure.

“Bedfordview is an old suburb. AC (cement asbestos) pipes still serve large sections. These are particularly vulnerable to temperatures and pressure changes.”

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Tree roots also often cause bursts.

“Remember, many of them are 50 years old and were never upgraded,” explained Humphreys.

She added the city does repairs because it does not have the funding or resources to replace them.

The reason for the emptying of reservoirs was still unclear because Rand Water failed to provide comment to the publication, even after sending two media enquiries on the matter.

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