Burst pipes and leakages will soon be a thing of the past, given Joburg Water's extensive blueprint for upgrading its ageing infrastructure.

Gerald Dumas, the managing director of Joburg Water

JOBURG Water will spend over a billion rand in the next 12 months in a bid to rehabilitate obsolete municipal water infrastructure and sewer networks, and refurbish wastewater treatment works across the city.

This forms part of its widespread strategy to upgrade the metro's entire ageing water infrastructure, which is more than five decades old. Over R5-billion of the utility's capital budget will be poured into such programmes over the next five years.

Joburg Water is a municipal-owned entity responsible for administering the municipality's water and sanitation services.

The cash will be used to end backlogs in upgrading and rehabilitating old infrastructure, and so end frequent water pipe bursts, which often cause flooding.

Speaking at a media briefing on Monday, 6 October at the Walter Sisulu Hall in Randburg, in the northwest of the city, Gerald Dumas, the utility's managing director, said that service delivery remained a priority.

The prime objective of the project was to improve service delivery and customer satisfaction through upgrading and extending Johannesburg Water's infrastructure, and replacing old and outdated systems, he explained.

No service disruptions and water supply problems are expected during the work, but the utility will notify residents at least 48 hours before there are any planned supply cuts caused by the construction work.

Dumas said that the City was fully aware of the type of problems that were caused by old municipal water infrastructure, "hence we have put comprehensive programmes in place to upgrade and rehabilitate municipal water and sanitation infrastructure across the city".

Rapid development
This was being done to support Johannesburg's rapid development and to ensure an acceptable minimum level of service, as well as for the renewal and replacement of ageing infrastructure, he said.

Long Street in Ferndale, northwestern Joburg, where water upgrades are planned

Randburg suburbs that would benefit included Malanshof, where upgrades of existing water mains would be completed by the end of the month. "The primary objective of this project is to replace water mains in Jan K Marais Street to eliminate and minimise frequent water pipe bursts," he said.

Water and sanitation infrastructure, including pipes and reservoirs, have to be regularly maintained to prevent bursts and leakages, which often cause flooding that ultimately wrecks private properties and results in soil erosion.

Some R75-million would be injected into overhauling and replacing water infrastructure in the suburbs of Bryanston, Wynberg, Florida, Mondeor, and Kibler Park. "Through these projects we continue to improve water supply to consumers."

This project comprises the installation of approximately 1 000 metres of a high impact class 16 UPVC pipeline, similar to those installed in the southern suburbs of Glenvista, Kibler Park and Ridgeway earlier this year. These modern pipes can withstand pressure for decades.

Following the installation of the new pipes in those suburbs, frequent water pipe bursts and flooding, which had led to damage to private properties, were no longer a concern, Dumas explained. His utility had allocated R2,4-million for the completion of that project, which entailed the replacement of about 1,94 kilometres of piping.

Another R15-million would be set aside to upgrade 11 kilometres of water mains in Ferndale Phase 1 and 2, in Randburg. "Water and sanitation are key to the development of the city," Dumas said.

Tap water
The quality of Joburg's tap water has been rated among the best in the world; to maintain this standard, officials routinely monitor over 500 drinking water samples each month as part of its audit programmes that focus on infrastructure development and maintenance.

Dumas noted that the utility was committed to improving the quality of water and sanitation services in Joburg. "This infrastructure renewal programme is close to my heart because I love development, and customer satisfaction remains my top priority."

"Johannesburg Water continues to supply the City and its customers with fresh, clean and healthy drinking water each day," Dumas noted. It would continue to ensure that the 900 million litres of wastewater generated daily was treated to the highest standards demanded by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, and in line with global best practice.

Another sub-programme was the upgrade and refurbishment of wastewater treatment works, planned for the near future. It was aimed at expanding capacity and upgrading as well as overhauling electrical and mechanical plants. Through this project, Joburg Water would ensure that there was enough treatment capacity of effluent.

Maintaining its water systems allows Joburg Water to keep track of its capacity. To report water or sewer problems, telephone its 24-hour call centre on 011 688 1500, or Joburg Connect on 011 375 5555.

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