In efforts to fix the longstanding leak on Rothesay and Jan Smuts avenues in Craighall, Johannesburg Water has requested City Power to interrupt the power supply to customers in Craighall, to enable them to proceed with repairs.

City Power confirmed to the publication, on January 13, that the Hursthill Service Delivery Centre was initially notified of a water leakage on these streets on December 23 last year, following an escalation reported by its dispatch department.

Read more: Johannesburg Water excavates Jan Smuts and Rothesay avenues to source leak

“A team was promptly dispatched to investigate whether the leakage affected the power supply or if City Power cables were obstructing Johannesburg Water personnel in performing their duties.

Upon assessment, the team confirmed that everything was in order, including that the cables were not causing any obstruction and that the rerouting of cables were not required,” noted spokesperson of City Power Isaac Mangena.

Mangena added that, although City Power cables did not impede on any required work, Johannesburg Water requested City Power interrupt the power supply to customers in Craighall due to the network configuration, which would necessitate switching off the entire Craighall area.

Also read: Major water leak on Ruth Avenue continues to waste litres amid city shortages

“City Power is required to provide notifications in advance to residents for an outage of this scale, allowing customers sufficient time to prepare for the interruption.”

Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala confirmed that the water entity would proceed with the repair of the pipe burst on the same day as City Power isolating their electrical cables, and this would be followed by immediate backfilling and reinstatement of the excavation to restore safe access for motorists and residents.

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