The City of Johannesburg Water utility, Johannesburg Water, is adamant that their repair and maintenance teams have improved response times to leaks and bursts by 4 per cent.
“This might not seem like much but it is a huge saving in water and in the reduction of water supply interruptions,” said the entity’s spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene.
This follows constant pipe bursts and leaks in various suburbs in the City.
Although the City did not provide accurate statistics about these incidents, Randburg Sun established that about 12 incidents of bursts pipes were reported in October in Randburg. These incidents were reported through the utility’s twitter account.
Chuene insisted that burst pipes were usually caused by various factors which could emanate from wear and tear, high water pressure and damage by contractors.
She said they have an ongoing programme in the City to manage water leakages and usage. Some of these programmes include active leakage detection and repair teams and water network pressure modulation through 793 pressure reducing valves (PRV) at strategic locations in the system, saving 29.6 billion litres per annum.
Chuene admitted that there was an 18 per cent increase in the number of incidents of burst pipes and leaks reported to the City. She said it was easy but not correct to assume that the number of bursts escalated after the City imposed water restrictions due to low dam levels as a result of the drought South Africa is currently experiencing. “Our records show the number of bursts attended to in the past two years are not more than the average experienced in the past four to five years,” she said.
She concluded that burst pipes and leaks should be swiftly reported to the call centre on 0860 562 874/011 375 5555, via email on customer@jwater.co.za or the SMS line 082 653 2143.
Details: Johannesburg Water 0800 00 25 87.
