NO water for two weeks

POLOKWANE – After months of one water pipe burst after the other, the Polokwane Municipality has made a desperate decision tot resolve the problem once and for all.

However, the municipality’s drastic action will leave the city without water for two weeks.

This was confirmed by municipal spokesperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, who said the council had held a special meeting in this regard and made this decision.

He said over 400 teams of municipal workers would be working on the major replacement project called operation Amanzi (water).

The project would commence on Monday, April 7, and continue for two weeks with the 400 teams divided into two groups; one for day shifts and one for night shifts, he said. “While the completion date is Monday April 21, it is possible that the project could take longer, depending on the weather and the progress made,” Mothapo said.

“The Polokwane Municipality has listened to the people of Polokwane and has heard the outcry over burst waterpipes. We are here to say that we have the solution.

“But as with all good things, this will come at a cost. We beg the residents of Polokwane to remain patient during the process,” he said.

He explained that all Polokwane’s waterpipes would be replaced with pipes made from a new mixture of asbestos and PVC, making the pipes durable and able to cope with the harsh winter months and the very hot summer days.

According to the owner of joint venture, Maboja Pipes, Pieter Steenkamp, who is the engineer that designed the new pipes, the problem with the older asbestos pipes was that they could not withstand very high and low temperatures. However, they were found to be very durable.

In an effort to combat the problems experienced with the older pipes, Maboja Pipes came up with the idea of manufacturing waterpipes that are a combination of asbestos and PVC.

“These pipes have a 75-year lifespan and will ensure that there are no more pipe bursts for at least the next 75 years. Unfortunately the installation cannot be done in phases. It has to be done in one fell swoop and no water can be running during this period,” Steenkamp explained.

Mothapo said the municipality was very excited over introducing the new waterpipe system. “We are looking forward to giving the residents of Polokwane the service they deserve,” he said. Mothapo warned residents to stock up on water or to make use of boreholes to make sure they had enough water during this period, especially over the Easter weekend.

Manufacturers of bottled water in the city confirmed that they were preparing to double and, in some cases, triple their production per day to deal with the expected spike in the demand.

Gerhard Burger, owner of a car wash in the city said that although the water issue could become something of the past with the new system in place, it meant that he would be losing two weeks or more of business, which translated to half a month’s income.

“If the municipality looked after the pipes like they were supposed to do we as business owners would not be suffering the consequences, but now we have to pay for their incompetence,” he said.

Jo-anne Baker, a resident who has her own borehole, said she would be willing to sell water for R5 per litre to residents who did not have water.

Roads will also be closed so that trenches can be dug for the new waterpipes.

For a map of roads affected, as well as alternative detour roads. Click Here