Road closure in Sutherland Avenue, Parktown North, for installation of pressure release valves
PARKTOWN NORTH – The pilot project is taking place in order to combat water pressure issues and unexpected pipe bursts.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/LukewithworkersJHBw_64879.jpeg)
Sutherland Avenue in Parktown North will be closed for the next month at the 1st Avenue end while pressure release valves (PRVs) are being installed.
Joburg Water announced last year that they would be conducting a pilot project to install the PRVs in various streets of Region B and Region E in an attempt to combat water pressure issues and unexpected pipe bursts in the area.
The Sutherland Avenue project is set to take about one month to complete, while PRVs have already been installed on the corner of 5th and 1st Avenue in Parktown North. PRVs are also set to be installed on the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and Denbigh Road in Parkwood.
![](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/08/Pressure1_91318.jpg)
Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck said last year that Joburg Water hopes to save water through this installation, but Joburg Water will only know what difference these new PRVs will make once they are all installed and the pipes are replaced.
“Joburg Water will monitor water usage in the area over several months to see if water usage decreases,” said Truluck.
He said that the entire project should be completed within the next three months.
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Truluck warned motorists to drive carefully near the road works and be careful when walking on sidewalks that have been dug up.
“There will probably also be some water outages and bursts when water is returned to the new pipes. The old pipes may also be affected due to changes in pressure. Once things settle down after a few weeks, there should be a drop in pressure in the streets, which means that there should be fewer pipe bursts and water outages. The drop in pressure shouldn’t affect households as it is too high to use in houses and we all have our own domestic pressure reduction valves installed,” said Truluck.
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