The repair of the Lynnwood Reservoir, which was expected to start soon, has been pushed back to next month, according to Ward 82 councillor Siobhan Muller.
Muller equated the delay due to the construction company’s holiday closure.
She said the bulk water team had informed her that the reservoir was falling by about 3% per day.
“The result is it won’t be empty for repair work for at least another week, and the construction companies close on December 13, for builders’ holidays.
The plan is to rather keep the reservoir to just below the breach in the wall until after Christmas, so that repairs only take place in January 2025 when contractors return.”
She stated that they will monitor the Lynnwood reservoir daily to ensure residents aren’t without water.
Muller urged people around the reservoir to report any water leak immediately.
“Thank you to everyone who has been careful with our water.”
Residents were left frustrated because even though the leak at the reservoir was reported over the weekend, it could only be attended to on the following Monday.
A leak was discovered at the Lynnwood Reservoir at the corner of The Koppie Road and Alpine Way on December 1.
Muller said a resident reported the leak on Saturday morning.
She said that despite immediate escalation on the weekend, Tshwane was only able to attend to the matter on Monday morning.
Muller expressed frustration at the delay, stating that “a lot of water was lost at a time when residents are told to save water.”.
She highlighted that this incident occurred during strict water restrictions being imposed by Rand Water, which has warned of a severe water shortage.
“This happens in a time where Rand Water has warned that we are going to run out of water with heavy restrictions in place,” Muller said.
“Millions of litres of water were pumped out of the reservoir throughout the weekend, threatening water resources.”
Previously Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the cause of the leak was possibly a failure of the floor-to-wall joint bandages inside the reservoir.
He said calculations are being done to determine the estimated volume of water lost.
“The estimated volume of water lost will be communicated once the calculations are complete,” Mashigo said.
In response to the crisis, Mashigo said the metro has taken the following steps:
– Emptying the reservoir, which is currently in progress.
– Appointing a service provider to conduct a thorough assessment of the leak.
– Making funds available to appoint a service provider to rehabilitate the reservoir.
“The timeline for the rehabilitation process will only be known after investigations are complete,” said Mashigo.
“The leak is expected to have a negative impact on the water supply, with 9.5 megalitres of storage being taken out of service.”
Mashigo added that no damages to nearby properties have been reported.
To prevent similar incidents in the future, Mashigo said the metro will appoint civil engineering consultants to assess the structural integrity and general conditions of its reservoirs.
Do you have more information about the story?
Please send us an email to bennittb@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok.
