Whiteridge System’s 1.6 billion-litre daily supply and critical infrastructure upgrades showcased
Johannesburg Water hosted a media tour to shed light on their operations and infrastructure.
Johannesburg Water has revealed that it supplies 1.6 billion litres of water daily, received from the bulk supplier, Rand Water, and is distributed through a network of water infrastructure consisting of 129 reservoirs and water towers.
The entity disclosed this during a media tour hosted on January 9 at the Roodepoort Whiteridge System.
This tour was aimed at showcasing the infrastructure serving the local areas and how water moves from their operations to residents’ taps.
Briefing the media on-site was Kobus Beukes, the depot manager, who said the Whiteridge System, which totals 22.50 megalitres (MI), consists of three towers, one reservoir, two booster pump stations and one pump station.
“The system is made up of the Florida North Tower [stores 0.60 MI], Constantia Kloof Tower [stores 1.30 MI], Helderkruin Reservoir [stores 19.00 MI], Helderkruin Tower [stores 1.60 MI], CR Swart, Jim Fouche, and Vuurlelie Booster pump stations,” he said.
“The systems are interconnected, relying on each other for water supply. Therefore, if one reservoir experiences a water shortage, it will affect the supply to the others as well.
“They also require a minimum flow rate of 2 500 litres per second at Whiteridge for the systems to be stable,” he explained.
The system supplies water to parts of Region C, including Maraisburg, Florida North, Florida Hills, Florida View, Florida Glen, Roodekrans, Wilro Park, Helderkruin, Horizon View, Princess, Breaunanda and Westgate.
Additionally, planned maintenance work was done at the Florida North pump station to fast-track the revival of its water circulation system.
According to Theodore Mhlom, the mechanical manager, the project cost R6.7m, and it included adding a standby generator, fencing, a pump, pipework and other civil work.
This comes after the area has experienced rampant shutdowns in recent months, negatively impacting residents in neighbourhoods including Florida Hills and Maraisburg.
Mhlom attributes the presence of bursting and leaking pipes within communities as a result of the infrastructure requiring rehabilitation, and measures will be taken to address this issue.
