Here’s why Redhill Road in Morningside is plagued by repeated pipe bursts
After six pipe bursts in a week sparked fears of another infrastructure crisis in Morningside, Johannesburg Water says investigations traced the problem to a faulty pressure-reducing valve.
Johannesburg Water (JW) says it is aware of the recent pipe bursts reported on Redhill Road in Morningside, attributing the failures to a faulty pressure-reducing valve (PRV) located at West Road North, and the valve has since been repaired.
This follows concerns raised by Ward 103 councillor Lynda Shackelford during her site visit with the Sandton Chronicle on June 25, who fears that history may be repeating itself.
Shackleford said the area is experiencing a repeat of the crisis that plagued residents during 2022 and 2023, when more than 22 pipe bursts occurred along the same stretch of road.
“It seems to be starting again,” she said. “Residents are extremely frustrated about this. Just in the last week, we’ve had six bursts along this smaller road within the Morningside area, with only a few houses, but the pipe bursts are affecting the surrounding area. Residents go days without water because of pipe bursts.”
Shackleford added that while pressure fluctuations are contributing to the failures, the underlying problem is ageing infrastructure.
Responding to a media enquiry, JW spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala confirmed the utility was aware of the recent incidents and that the fault had been repaired.
“The pipe bursts were not related to any recent changes in water supply operations or network balancing. The issue was caused by the PRV not functioning as intended, which affected pressure regulation in the area,” Shabalala said.
“Johannesburg Water continues to implement pressure management measures across the network. PRVs require regular maintenance and are attended to as part of planned maintenance programmes, as well as when operational requirements arise, to ensure they continue functioning effectively.”
Also read: Bryanston records 217 pipe bursts in two months as water crisis deepens
She added that as part of preventative measures, JW is prioritising the maintenance and monitoring of PRVs to ensure effective pressure management and reduce the risk of pipe failures.
Responding to residents’ concerns about limited communication during rapidly evolving outages, Shabalala said, JW issues customer notices as soon as affected water lines are closed.
“In addition, water tankers are deployed to affected areas where necessary to provide temporary relief to residents during supply interruptions.”
She also confirmed that JW has not recorded any abnormal pressure readings or other network incidents in the Morningside area over the past two weeks.
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