Water pipe burst leaves Randpark Ridege dry

Ward 102 residents were negatively affected by water cuts due to a burst water pipe on the corner of Suikerbos Avenue in Randpark Ridge.

According to Bromhof resident Alwyn Smit, he and his neighbours did have any water since the morning of 17 June.

“My wife and I had to go to a friend’s house on19 June to take a bath, and thus could not go to work. Joburg Connect told me the water would be back by later that evening but I highly doubted it,” said Smit.

Randpark Ridge resident Carole Brak said she had been told that the water tank supplied by Joburg Water would be at the nearest garage, but when she and other residents drove to the located tank areas, there was nothing.

Another Randpark resident, Aletta Oliver stated that she knew nothing of the supplied water tanks and had to use water from her pool to flush her toilet and to wash dishes.

According to Ward 102 councillor Ralf Bittkau, Joburg Water had to replace a pipe with two pipes – each six metres long – and affected most of Ward 102 and some parts of Ward 104.

“The water was supposed to be back by the evening of 19 June but there had been delays because the pipes that were supplied, were too long,” explained Bittkau.

“Joburg Water had to get a collar machine to resize the new pipes to fit correctly and the problem should be resolved soon.”

A Joburg Water manager on site told residents that they may have not have received any notice of the water cut because this was an emergency call to come fix the pipe.

He said there were water tanks at the nearest shopping centres and garages, but for more details residents could call Joburg Connect.

Joburg Water spokesperson Millicent Kabwe said, “We had an emergency shut down due to a pipe that needed to be repaired. Affected Suburbs were Randpark Ridge – extensions 1, 2, 3, 6; extensions 44 and 45; Boskruin extensions 4, 8, 10, 24, and 27; in Bromhof all extensions and Strijdom Park extensions 1, 3, 9 and 18. We initially anticipated the interruption to last 12 hours but the work couldn’t be completed by then. The team had been on site trying to repair the pipe and restore normal supply. We had been working to restore normal supply no later than 20 June.”

According to Bittkau, these water pipes have a lifespan of 25 years and they have been used for 35 years and are therefore 10 years overdue. “They are being monitored and there are still areas that need to be fixed. The long water pipe which affected Randpark Ridge, Bromhof and other areas was replaced and work completed the next evening [20June] because of some delays,” confirmed the councillor.

Details: Joburg Connect 011 375 5555; Ward 102 councillor Ralf Bittkau 084 572 4002.