Modderfontein retirement home faces two-week water outage

Johannesburg Water (JW) is aware of the water supply challenges affecting residents at the Heritage Estate Retirement Home in Modderfontein.

JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala said on November 18 that the recurring issues are due to a repeated burst pipe on School Road, which JW’s technical team attended to, but continued to burst, leaving the retirement home without water for two weeks.

Shabalala said that to allow for repairs to proceed, the water supply had to be isolated (closed), which caused the supply issues. The JW has since repaired the burst.

ALSO READ: Local Government Indaba focuses on improving municipalities

“The entity also provided updates on the progress of repairs, which were shared on our social media accounts, as well as ward councillor WhatsApp groups. Ward councillors share that information with their communities,” explained Shabalala.

She said there is no estimated restoration time, and there is an alternative water supply source provided to the affected areas. She said further updates will be provided as repairs progress.

Ward 32 Clr Dimakatso Moloisane confirmed that the outage had affected the retirement village and the neighbouring Westlake Eco Estate. He said the repeated bursts were caused by excessive pressure on the system.

ALSO READ: Top-performing municipalities recognised at Gauteng Audit Awards

The councillor noted that the line’s water pressure was reduced to minimise stress on the existing infrastructure, with the affected section isolated, and materials being sourced to complete the repairs.

Moloisane further said, “The cause of the repeated bursts is under investigation. Records indicate that the pipeline was installed in 2016.

“As part of the assessment, pressure loggers are being installed on the mainline and secondary main to monitor pressure fluctuations and identify potential contributing factors.”