Joburg Water’s Carlswald water pipeline upgrade to commence in June

Johannesburg Water has put forward a proposal for the installation of a new water pipeline in Carlswald, which is expected to commence by June, subject to the entity’s internal tender evaluation process.

The proposed upgrade is situated within the road reserves of Walton Avenue, Whisken Avenue, Ethel Avenue, R55, Stallion Road, and Papenfus Drive.

The proposed pipeline is about 5.1km in length, starting on Walton Avenue and ending just outside the entrance of Blue Hills Country Estate.

At present, the project falls in the Erand Reservoir Distribution Zone, but in the future, it will come under the Carlswald Reservoir distribution zone.

Due to the expansion of the area, the Erand Reservoir is facing challenges in supplying water to the suburbs. The new Carlswald Reservoir will ease the pressure of abstraction from the existing Erand Reservoir, and a new pipeline is needed to complement the new reservoir.

The proposed Carlswald Reservoir and network upgrade are being implemented as two separate yet interlinked projects. The environmental screening of the reservoir has been conducted, and no listed activities have been triggered.

The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has confirmed that environmental authorisation is not necessary for the reservoir. However, environmental authorisation is required for the network upgrade, which is being undertaken through the current process.

Once the new Carlswald Reservoir is constructed, the current network will be split, with the Carlswald Reservoir having its network. The additional supporting infrastructure will ensure that the Carlswald network will be capable of efficiently providing potable water at all times to all its users.

Ward 132 councillor Annette Deppe said this had been in the capex budget for years and she is relieved that it is finally going to be constructed.

“To residents, this means that once the Carlswald pipeline and reservoir is built, it will relieve the pressure from the Erand Reservoir and free up the water supply and capacity to Carlswald and the surrounding areas,” said Deppe.

The Draft Basic Assessment Report and associated documentation are available at Halfway House Library, or people can visit www.zitholele.co.za/environmental/ or request an electronic copy from carlswald@zitholele.co.za

All interested and affected parties are urged to review the report and associated documentation and provide written feedback before April 18 by submitting their comments.

A public meeting will be held on April 4 at 17:30, and locals are urged to join the virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams with meeting ID: 386 684 985 687 and passcode: 6n6BK6 to get more information about the project.

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