Late-night repairs bring partial relief after water shutdown in Centurion
A planned upgrade to the Boekenhout Road water network left many Wierda Park and Eldoraigne residents without supply for longer than expected, with metro teams working until the early hours to restore water supply.
Residents in Wierdapark, Eldoraigne, and surrounding suburbs experienced longer than expected water disruptions on August 26 after the Tshwane metro’s planned network upgrade encountered challenges on site.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo explained that the shutdown was initially scheduled to take place from 08:00 until 17:00 on Tuesday to allow technicians to join the existing and new pipelines and tie in the Boekenhout Street water network pipelines.
“The upgrade involved a complete shutdown of the system, which was anticipated to last for nine hours,” he said.
However, he noted that the contractor encountered challenges on site, which delayed the work.
“The team is finalising the last two tie-in points and will blank off the existing pipes once completed,” added Mashigo.
Ward councillor Marika Kruger-Muller confirmed that the city’s teams worked late into the night to restore supply.
“The team worked until 01:30 to complete two tie-in connections, and water was restored around that time,” she said.
She added that while water was flowing again, the situation was not fully resolved.
“There is still a pressure problem, and some water meters are leaking at the pipe connections,” she said.
“The old network is still receiving water, and they need to place three caps to stop it. One cap is already in place, and they are now busy with the second. These measures will ensure water only flows through the new network.”
According to Kruger-Muller, residents in high-lying streets such as Starling Avenue have been the hardest hit, with very low pressure despite supply being restored.
She noted that the fire hydrant in Starling Avenue has been closed to help stabilise pressure, while another hydrant at the corner of Boekenhout Road and Penguin Crescent remains open.
She explained that plumbers on-site are forced to dig manually to avoid damaging the network.
“They cannot use heavy machinery because it may cause damage, so the work is taking longer than expected,” she said.
Kruger-Muller added that the city was assisting in identifying where the caps must be placed to complete the switchover.
In his initial announcement on August 21, Mashigo confirmed that the planned shutdown would affect several areas, including WierdaPpark Ext 1, Eldoraigne Ext 2, 23, 28, 32, 33, 76, and 84, as well as Celtisdal Ext 7 and 8.
Streets such as Albatros Street, Kraanvoël Street, Bosduif Crescent, Willem Botha Drive, and Starling Avenue were among the many listed to be impacted.
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