The City’s Water and Sanitation Department is repairing the newly identified excessive leak that occurred on the pipeline that distributes water to Blue Downs, Brentwood Park, Camelot, Hagley, Highgate, Malibu Village, Nuwe Begin, Silversands, Summerville, Sunbird Park, Wembley and Wesbank. Residents are assured every effort is being made to restore water to the affected areas. At this stage, if all goes well, it is anticipated the water will be restored systematically this evening.

At the initial assessment, the department found they must replace a section of the 650mm diameter pipe and immediately processed a special order, but the delivery lead time was too long and would have placed the repair time at great risk. This prompted the department to find an alternate solution which then involved internal manufacturing processes to join the new and existing pipe sections. This was achieved successfully with the technical team working through the night and the newly modified pipe section arrived onsite Monday 24 January and the department immediately started repair work.

‘The Department successfully installed the pipeline and repaired the excessive leak that was identified first.

‘When the operational team procedurally tested the section, they found that the adjacent pipe section developed a serious leak. This is not uncommon when acute stress and movement is placed on a pipe and additional leaks can occur. The department, again working through the night, had to modify another pipe length in its workshop which was delivered on site this morning.

‘The department immediately started repair work on the newly identified leak, and we suspect that we can test the new pipeline after successful installation. At this stage, if all goes well, it is anticipated the water will be restored systematically this evening. This City apologises profusely for the delay in returning water supply to the affected communities and for any inconvenience caused.

‘Our team is working tirelessly to ensure water is restored as soon as possible. In addition our team has been providing water via trucks, and more recently standpipes, to help our communities with water for domestic use.

‘In addition, 12 000 bottles of relief water have been donated by Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages for affected residents.

‘Residents are assured our teams will continue to work non-stop until the supply is restored,’ said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.

Water tankers

• Water tankers will continue to rotate through as many communities as possible until supply is restored. These locations will be communicated by the councillors. Schools and other vulnerable groups in the affected areas have been prioritised.
• Residents are encouraged to fill clean, sealed containers with water for domestic purposes.
• Residents are advised to visit the City Alerts Twitter page or contact their ward councillor for updates including the water trucks delivery service and standpipes.

Restoring water

Residents are advised of the following:

• Please ensure all taps are closed properly so that when supply is restored, water is not wasted.

• The water supply will be restored gradually as the water starts to fill the network, to avoid consequential bursts. It must also be taken into account that while we are busy filling the pipeline, residents will already be drawing from the supply which will then extend the period of restoring the water supply to all the affected communities.

Source: City Of Cape Town