VEREENIGING- Areas in Three Rivers were without water following emergency repairs that were carried out by Emfuleni Local Municipality’s (ELM) Metsia-Lekoa team on the burst water pipeline at Midvaal Private Hospital recently. Ward 1 Councillor Dalene Venter said she was alerted by the hospital about the incident.

“I received a call from the hospital’s maintenance manager about a burst pipe. Initially, we thought it was the fire hydrant. When all the hydraulics were switched off, we noticed that the water was still coming out aggressively.”

Venter said they called out the team from Metsi-aLekoa, and when they started digging, they noticed the pipes were too deep, and there was water around them. The team shut down the main water supply, resulting in households in the area with very little to no water.

Venter said the incident highlights the issue of ageing infrastructure and the need to replace old pipes in the Emfuleni Local Municipality.

ELM’s Acting Assistant Manager for Media Relations Chuchi Radebe explained, “Our water team isolated the supply to Three Rivers to allow for emergency repair work of a leaking main pipeline next to Midvaal Private Hospital. Isolating the supply is part of a standard procedure for enabling effective leak repairs. The process is necessary to maintain network integrity and ensure a safe work environment for our repair teams.”

ELM apologised for the inconvenience caused by the delayed communication regarding the repair work. “It must be noted that this particular job was an emergency that required immediate intervention to prevent further water wastage.”

Radebe cited that the municipality always communicates planned shutdowns and maintenance well in advance. “In cases of emergencies, our teams often prioritise normalising supply as quickly as possible.

The municipality kindly requests all residents to follow our official municipal platforms (Facebook, Website, and WhatsApp channel) for accurate and timeous updates on service interruptions and restorations.”