Farrarmere plagued by burst pipes

In the past week, Farrarmere has been rocked by five major burst water pipes, with councillor Mary Goby warning this is a clear sign that the infrastructure is failing.

Burst pipes were reported in Cambridge Street and Southy and Wordsworth roads, and although repairs were conducted within a reasonable turnaround time, Goby believes the network urgently needs to be refurbished.

“The existing pipe infrastructure has remained untouched for over 28 years,” she said.

“It has reached the end of its lifespan and needs to be replaced immediately, either by street or block, but urgent work needs to be done.”

In 2021, Goby had launched a petition with the metro to make provision for a long-term budget to facilitate a complete overhaul of the piping system.

However, only 600 signatures were collected, resulting in the application being dismissed.

“I can make as much noise as I want to, but without resident participation and support, our concerns will continue to fall on deaf ears,” she said.

She added that following repairs being done and water supply restored, airlocks occur within the pipes.

Pressure from these airlocks subsequently cause cracks within the pipes, leading to further bursts.

During a site inspection of the Northmead Water Tower, MMC of Water, Sanitation and Energy Senzi Sibeko stated once the tower is completed, approximately 200km of old and redundant feeding pipes will need to be replaced. It is estimated that this will take between two to three years to complete.

Residents recently voiced their views on the City Times’ Facebook page, saying the area is without water weekly.

One reader commented that storing water has become a daily routine as the taps run dry.

At the time of going to print, no comment had been received from the metro.

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