‘Contractors the cause of water issues in the north’
The joy of the new water pipe replacement project had run dry, due to the majority of the current leaks being caused by the contractors replacing the old water pipes.
Residents in the Sinoville and Wonderboom areas are facing water cuts due to water leaks caused by contractors, while certain areas in Tshwane are also plagued by water problems.
In October last year, the Tshwane metro announced that they would prioritise the maintenance and refurbishment of infrastructure to prevent water leaks.
A financial boost of R75-million was set aside to ensure that a series of projects to replace 18 420m of pipes in Tshwane started.
One of the projects was approved in ward 50 and started in the greater Sinoville area.
However, the joy of the new water pipe replacement project had run dry, due to the majority of the current leaks being caused by the contractors replacing the old water pipes.
Ward 50 councillor Lenise Breytenbach said the pipe replacement project is “very challenging as water pipes, wire and electrical cables have been damaged in the process”.
“This will cause delays for the date of completion as work has to be paused during water leaks as workers cannot lay water pipes while water is running in the open trenches.
“For the damages caused by the contractor, there will be a penalty, however, this is at the taxpayers’ cost.”
Rekord previously reported that phase 1 of the work will focus on the areas that have been affected the most by the constant water leaks, including Matlabas Avenue, Anastasia and Antun streets as well as Sefako Makgatho Drive in Annlin.
The scope of work in these specific areas will include:
– the replacement of approximately 7 310m of various pipes including PVC pipes of approximately 370m in length
– installation of all necessary isolation valves, fire hydrants and chambers
– supply, laying and testing of all pipes and special fittings with required anchors and blocks as per approved drawings
– connection to existing water networks
– re-installation of existing services
– disconnecting the old system
While Tshwane deals with the water shortages in specific areas, ward 2 has experienced the worst kind of water leaks in the area last month that had been attended to.
The streets that were worst affected the worst includes Koos de la Rey, Rachel de Beer, Gerrit Maritz, Stasie and President Steyn.
Ward councillor Yolanda Duvenage previously mentioned that the water pipe replacement project had already started in 2020 and is set to be completed in February this year.
Water cuts in most of Pretoria are predominantly caused by water leaks, but Amandasig residents have been affected by the current Tshwane water crisis due to the low water supply to the reservoir in Amandasig.
This was confirmed by ward 4 councillor Petrus Molope.
A concerned resident added that the water crisis has resulted in learners missing out on school as they had to be sent home twice as there was no water.
Mayor Randall Williams said that the Tshwane metro is fully committed to working with Rand Water to better manage the water demand consumption plaguing the metro currently.
Williams noted that their focus was on the inability to get high-lying reservoirs to recover water in areas that have been grappling with little to no water for over a week.
While the metro focuses on restoring the water residents are encouraged to continue using water sparingly.
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