The spokesperson for Johannesburg Water Nombuso Shabalala confirmed that the entity was aware of the reinstatement issue on Annie Road, Fontainebleau.
“Johannesburg Water is in the process of procuring the services of a contractor who will implement long-term repairs on the sewer line. The procurement process is currently with the supply chain. It’s important to note that because work is scheduled according to capacity, some reinstatement jobs may take longer to complete,” said Shabalala.
She added the entity was facing a huge backlog of reinstatements around the city, with internal teams and service providers working around the clock to complete the work.
“Ageing infrastructure also plays a role in that as the number of bursts increases, the number of excavations also increases. Resource availability, which is both financial and human, then becomes a challenge. Johannesburg Water has, however, increased working times of reinstatement teams, especially over weekends to catch up with these ever-increasing reinstatement jobs.”
Shabalala added that the turnaround time for backfilling was five days and for reinstatements 10 days.
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“However, these turnaround times are affected by various issues, including the magnitude of the work to be performed. Some backfilling and reinstatement jobs are done internally, and the medium to large-scale jobs are outsourced. Other reasons for delay include backlogs of reinstatement work, resource availability, as well as weather conditions as repair work can’t be done in rainy and wet weather conditions.”
According to resident André Kruger, the Annie Road water leak was reported in May last year. Joburg Water came out with a mechanical back actor to do further diggings. In the process, the kerb was damaged, and a huge piece was excavated. At the same time, they completely wrecked the tar surface too – while attempting to dig the hole.
Kruser reported the matter and had been following up to no avail. “Many emails have been sent to Joburg Water requesting a date of repairs – they have not been answered at all. Incidentally, this is not the only unfinished work in the area. Many jobs are only half reinstated and require complete repairs and reinstatement – all Joburg Water.”
