Metro responds about water leak in Western Extension

For over 10 years, residents have been requesting the Ekurhuleni Water and Sanitation Department to find and repair the source of a water leak the City Times recently reported on.

The flowing water runs north from Avenue Station in Main Reef Road along the stormwater gully and is fed by additional leaks along the line.

Spokesperson for the metro Zweli Dlamini said the City will consider starting with the required work in the new financial year due to the limited resources for the current financial year.

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“It must be noted that the extent of the work to locate the leak is not clear at this stage.

“We, therefore, will have to excavate the bridge embankment (5-6m deep) and the excavation might even extend to under the bridge. This means the road (Woburn Avenue) might have to be closed and ripped off completely, which poses a very high risk and all safety precautions need to be in place and be covered on the budget as well, he said.”

He added there will have to be a sufficient budget available to cover all the work, as well as possible reconstruction of the road and any contingencies.

“This work cannot be started immediately due to budgetary constraints in the current financial year.

“In the meantime, wayleaves from other authorities, including the roads and stormwater and energy departments, Telkom, Prasa, are being sought.”

Jane Trembath, the chairperson of Korsman Conservancy, mentioned previously that the leak is not only a huge waste of water but it’s also affecting the Korsman Sanctuary.

“I met the chief engineer and one of his team on site recently,” she said.

“I showed them one of the areas where it seeps out of the bank, about 50m away from the bridge, to which they said they will try to dig down with a TLB to uncover the pipe. They have a TLB presently working in Daveyton and will bring it when it is finished there.

“If the ground is too hard or the pipe is too deep, they will have to get a contractor with an excavator, but this will incur expenditure for CoE, saving them money overall as the cost of digging will be far less than the wasted water, until the new budget, as the water leak costs R2 500 a day.

“I believe the seepage comes from a pipe that was installed when the Woburn Ave Bridge was built about 100 years ago. The map of the pipe has been lost in time. It shouldn’t be necessary to break down the bridge, just to find where the pipe runs before it gets to the bridge.

“I hope they will dig for it ASAP.”

According to Dlamini, the leak has taken 10 years to fix not only because of budget constraints but also because it has proven difficult to locate all the possible leaks.

“Officials from the Benoni water and sanitation depot have conducted several investigations in the recent years, including excavating and exposing water pipes in and around the area to try and locate any possible leaks,” he said.

The metro is also aware of the problems Korsman are having due to this leak, as well as the sewage leaking within the area.

“The sewer blockage has been cleared. It will be monitored and attended to if it re-occurs,” he said.

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Mary Goby, Ward 28 councillor, said the metro has known about this water leak for years.

“Why is it that they now state no money? If they listened to the residents then this problem could have been solved. The council is wasting valuable money. If they repair this pipe it will be a saving for them.”

Dlamini said the rate at which the City pays on bulk water is R10.90/kl and not R13/kl.

“All known municipal water lines around the area have been exposed during investigations in the past to check if they were leaking and none were found. It is suspected that the leak is emanating from a pipe (possibly privately owned) that is unknown and is not documented on the City’s “as built” information. “The only way to find out is to excavate and trace the water.

“The work will be considered to commence in the next financial year, as and when resources are available,” he concluded.