Water pipes need replacing in Mulbarton
Joburg Water seeks to implement infrastructure development in Mulbarton.
Mulbarton has experienced water supply issues and burst pipes for about five years.
The area has had several water cuts due to the constant maintenance and repairs on leaking pipes. This has caused the waste of an enormous amount of fresh water, roads that remain flooded and water eroding the tar, causing potholes.
Accessing the burst pipes also means pavements, including residents’ driveways, are dug up and damaged, leaving the disgruntled residents to repair their driveways.
This has left the community frustrated and Johannesburg Water (JW) scrambling to fix all the problems in the area.
JW has done much work over the years to remedy the situation. However, the reality is that the unmaintained crumbling infrastructure causes the area to flood, creating a domino effect of water outages and damaged roads.
True North Road in Mulbarton has had burst pipes that caused sinkholes. It has had constant maintenance for the past five years, which yielded no permanent solution.
Mulbarton resident Ziyaad Moosajee expressed frustration at the situation.
“We have water outages, leaking or burst pipes and highly damaged roads. We experience high traffic volumes because the schools, particularly Glenvista High, have no control over the traffic the school creates. Because of the water and the potholes, cars must avoid them and the oncoming cars from the school,” said Moosajee.
“We need JW to improve their maintenance strategy or replace all the pipes in the area somehow,” he continued.
JW spokesperson Nombuso Tsabalala sent the Comaro Chronicle this statement on the situation in Mulbarton.
“The Mulbarton area has experienced many burst pipes. JW is constantly working in the area to repair the leaking pipes, and recently, there was a major burst pipe on True North Road that took more than a week to repair,” said Tsabalala in the statement.
“As a long-term solution, the depot has submitted critical streets to the Capex Department to replace the pipelines in Mulbarton and nearby suburbs,” she concluded.
