UPDATE: Fountains pipeline repairs completed – once again

A Fountains pipe burst, which left residents and businesses in the inner city and surrounding areas without any water, was repaired on Thursday.

“City engineers from our utility services department finished and water was opened at the Salvokop reservoir into the system,” said Tshwane metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo.

He said residents should note that filling up the water network system would take long because the pipeline was completely dry.

“The engineers must be careful when pumping water into the system to avoid any hiccups such as leakages or burst pipes,” Mashigo said.

“Simply put, water will be gradually opened into the grid.”

Engineers were monitoring the grid, hoping that it would soon stabilise.

“Consumers in low-lying areas will be the first to get any water. This is because the network must first build up enough pressure, which then will result in high-lying areas getting water too.”

Mashigo said it was important for consumers to be prudent when using water.

Residents should not to water their gardens, wash their cars, or fill up their swimming pools until the flow of water has normalised.

“This will take approximately three days – assuming there are no setbacks.”

The following areas were hit by the water supply interruption: Sunnyside, Salvokop, Arcadia, Clydesdale, and the south of the Pretoria CBD.

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Health facilities (such as hospitals) were affected by the interruption.

Also affected were old age homes, national and provincial government departments, tertiary institutions and schools, embassies and local hotels.

Mashigo said about 100 water tankers would continue to supply water to residents at strategic points.

The Fountains water supply pipeline was damaged last week Wednesday morning.

On Monday, utility services MMC Abel Tau said repairs were “successfully completed”.

However, municipal workers discovered water gushing from the pipe on Wednesday.

Tau said an inspection revealed that the pipe had not been correctly connected.

“A tie-in done over the weekend has set us back.”

Tau said the job had been difficult for the technicians due to the Gautrain line nearby.

“The pipes which feed almost the entire inner CBD had to be rerouted when the Gautrain system was built.”

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