On 8 January, a burst pipe in Steyn City was the cause of a long water interruption for many parts of Fourways, including Cedar Lakes and Maroeladal.
From 3 January, Fourways residents reported seeing water running down Leslie Avenue from where the road intersects with Penguin Drive. Eventually on 13 January, the pipe at the corner of Leslie Avenue and Penguin Drive burst, spurting a high stream of water into the air.
Residents went without water for most of the day and later that day were informed by Joburg Water that emergency repairs would resume in the area on 14 January. While Joburg Water originally estimated that the work would last from 6am to 11am, the repair work took longer than expected due to heavy rains.
When asked whether the numerous water outages in Fourways were part of an umbrella problem, Eleanor Mavimbela, spokesperson for Joburg Water responded by saying, “The burst pipe in Steyn City is not connected to the burst pipe at the corner of Penguin and Leslie. The burst pipe in Leslie was attended to and the team are investigating the cause of the burst.”
Mavimbela assured that the pressure-reducing valves in Fourways are functioning properly and the pressure is within the correct allowable level as per municipal regulations.
“These pipe bursts occur in most of our networks and are dependent on so many things,” she said. “High pressures in our network, damage to municipal infrastructure by other service providers and old infrastructure in our network and so forth.”
With regards to planned infrastructure upgrades, Mavimbela said residents can rest assured that Joburg Water will ensure that they will communicate in advance, of any infrastructure upgrades that will take place in the area.
“Residents can help to minimise burst pipes by not digging or planting on the pavements where our services run, as this can have a detrimental effect on our asbestos cement pipes still underlying in some areas of Fourways,” she added.
Read our other stories about the Fourways water interruptions:
Another pipe bursts in Fourways
Major water interruption in Fourways
