Johannesburg Water repair and backfill major Church Street leaks in Halfway House
Johannesburg Water spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala says repairs were conducted and completed on April 10.
Johannesburg Water (JW) has explained what led to the repair and backfilling of the leaks on Church Street in Halfway House.
The water entity’s spokesperson Nombuso Shabalala told the paper that the major burst pipe on their 600mm pipeline was logged on March 29, and they began with excavations at the site on March 30.
Read more: JW wastes water, not adhering to their warning – Summerset resident
Shabalala said after excavating (digging) the site, assessments were made of the materials needed, and it was discovered that some of the material needed was not ‘off-the-shelf’ material.
“In other words, it needed to be custom-made. An order was placed for the procurement of the material. This is what led to the delays in repairing the site. Then on April 2, JW put in temporary repairs while the proper material was being procured through our internal supply chain process, which can also be a lengthy procedure,” said Shabalala.
Also read: JW spends R100 million a year treating bodily waste
In the article, Clean water flows from leak for three weeks, [week ending 19 April], a Halfway House resident John Brace was astonished and mind-boggled by what he called, ‘their total ineptitude’.
Shabalala said the custom-made material was subsequently delivered on April 8 and the repairs only began on April 10 because there were heavy rains on April 9.
“[And this] prevented repairs from taking place. JW teams cannot work during rainy weather conditions because the earth and soil become wet and moist. We always need a thoroughly dry and stable environment for work to take place. The rains further delayed repairs. On April 10, the repairs were conducted and completed,” explained Shabalala.
Shabalala said now, the delays in backfilling were caused by network cables that got damaged during the excavation.
These cables first needed to be repaired by the service provider, following which JW began with backfilling the site.
The paper then went to inspect the site on April 22 and it was indeed backfilled.
Related article: President Park and Glen Austin to be among affected suburbs as high water consumption skyrockets – JW
