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Old pipes are being replaced and water treatment plants are being upgraded - and these are just two of the projects on the go at Joburg Water to improve services to the city.
 RESIDENTS can expect fewer burst water pipes, leaks and blocked sewers in the coming years as Joburg Water embarks on a project to replace ageing infrastructure over the next five years.
Costing R5-billion, old pipes, prone to bursting under pressure, will be replaced and a new water treatment plant will be built in the northern parts of Johannesburg.
"An investigation was conducted by Joburg Water in August 2007 to identify ageing infrastructure within the City of Johannesburg. We decided to embark on a pipe replacement programme in 32 identified suburbs to go under the programme," said Bharat Gulab, the investment manager: capital investment at Joburg Water.
Gulab was speaking on Wednesday, 27 May at a media briefing on the utility's plans. Also there was Gerald Dumas, the managing director, and other Joburg Water officials.
Following the study, the utility set aside about R100-million for pipe replacement across the city. The programme started in August 2008 with the replacement of 120 kilometres of water pipes in eight suburbs - Bryanston A; Bryanston B; Wynberg; Ferndale A; Ferndale B; Florida; Kibler Park; and Mondeor.
This programme, phase one, was expected to be complete by October 2009 at a total cost of R82,5-million, according to Gulab.
Phase two
Phase two began in April 2009 and is expected to be complete by June 2010. It involves replacing old pipes in Naturena; Lenasia; Kibler Park B; Mondeor B; Blairgowrie; Morningside; Northriding; Douglasdale; Newclare; and Northcliff.
Bharat Gulab, the investment manager: capital investment at Joburg Water
This phase would cost R100-million. Besides work being done in these suburbs, each region would have some form of pipe replacement going on, he said.
"The main objectives of the programme are to minimise the number of pipe bursts in the future and also to create stability of the water network. We also expect a significant number of jobs to be created through the Expanded Public Works Programme."
Dumas explained that areas were selected for phases one and two of the pipe replacement programme depending on the frequency of leaks they had. "These are ‘hot spot' areas where there are numerous incidences of water pipe bursts and water leakages."
The old asbestos cement pipelines in these suburbs would be replaced by UPVC pipes that had a lifespan of between 50 and 80 years, said Jones Mnisi, the chief operations officer.
Besides these programmes, Soweto has its own Joburg Water project on the go called Operation Gcin'amanzi, meaning "save water".
"The pipe replacement programme is ongoing and will cover all parts of Johannesburg. Currently 30 percent of water that we buy goes to Soweto and 69 percent of that water is unaccounted for," said Dumas.
Northern Works
On top of the ongoing replacement of old water pipes, the company is putting the finishing touches to the Northern Works water treatment plant near Diepsloot. Upgrading the plant is costing R450-million.
"The existing installed treatment capacity at Northern Works is 410 megalitres per day. It was determined that an additional treatment capacity would be required by 2009 and we decided to add unit five to bring the capacity of the plant to 630 megalitres a day," said Ntshavheni Mukwevho, the divisional manager: investment delivery.
The unit five project was necessitated by the huge growth in the northern suburbs over the past 10 years, with farmland and smallholdings being transformed into new housing developments and office parks. Growing volumes of wastewater, combined with storm surges during the rainy season, have resulted in spills, adding to the volume of water being treated at the plant.
The project is being done in three phases, and each phase will provide 50 megalitres per day. Phase one is in progress and is expected to be complete by July 2009. A further 50 megalitres will be added by 2013 and phase three is expected to be done by 2025.
The Northern Works plant is by far the biggest in the city and the additions to the plant include the most recent equipment, machinery and technology. There are six water treatment works in Johannesburg, providing 1 000 megalitres of water.
Mukwevho said work at the Northern Works plant had created employment for local communities. "The project has seen 171 members of the local community being employed at the plant. On top of this, 164 people have received accredited training."
Joburg Water also has an ongoing undertaking to clean sewer pipes of encroaching tree roots. This was being done by three jet and vacuum vehicles, Dumas said. "The cleaning system is very effective and has kept our sewer system flowing smoothly. We are ordering six more such vehicles in the near future."
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