Ward councillors Mike Wood and David Potter and Joburg Water’s Isaac Dhludhlu commented on the ongoing water outages in Ferndale that started on 7 November.
Potter said the burst mains pipe on Pine Avenue was repaired by a Joburg Water team and on 9 November, another major burst occurred along Pretoria Avenue in the Randburg CBD, which was also repaired.
“Whilst these two large known bursts have been repaired, there are still serious water pressure challenges in Ferndale. The Joburg Water team worked throughout 10 November trying to establish the cause of this continued low to no pressure. Water pressure was restored somewhat during the evening of 10 November, however, the pressure dwindled in the early morning of 11 November,” said Potter.
He added that the water network was somewhat complex with many inlets, valves and more complicated pressure control valves.
“Joburg Water has informed us [Potter and Wood] that they will continue to look into what may be causing the low to no water pressure. We will constantly engage with Joburg Water depot management on the matter.”
Joburg Water’s Isaac Dhludhlu said the utility had received several complaints that there was little or no supply of water to a few Ferndale streets after the repair took place.
“Our teams will continue to investigate the matter and explore all possibilities of the cause of no water,” said Dhludhlu.
He added that the team had traced all the operated valves and all zone valves and they were operating as normal. The team would now investigate issues at the Kensington B water reservoir.
Joburg Water has placed water tankers on Pine Avenue, St James Avenue, Long Avenue, Basil Street, and additional tanks on West Avenue and Dover Street.
Dhludhlu added, “There are currently 10 water tanks in the area, and there is no estimated time of restoration. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and residents can follow updates on our social media pages.”
Potter added that residents should report all water leaks to Joburg Water by emailing customer@jwater.co.za
“Never presume that someone else has logged a leak,” he concluded.
