Parkhurst resident dissatisfied with Johannesburg Water’s turnaround time
Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck said that the water infrastructure is very old and consists mainly of asbestos pipes that are difficult to repair.
Why has it taken so long for Johannesburg Water to attend to Parkhurst’s water burst pipe?
A Parkhurst resident on September 12 approached the Rosebank Killarney Gazette with great concern regarding a leaking pipe which burst on September 8 on 1st Avenue, Parkhurst.
Catherine Mcpherson said she was appalled at the Johannesburg Water turn-around time.
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“Water has been gushing out of the ground since last week Thursday; it was worse during the weekend. I think it’s unacceptable, the whole state of the 1st Avenue West, the main road is shocking and has continuous holes which keep re-emerging time and time again.”
After the Rosebank Killarney Gazette sent a media enquiry on September 13, Johannesburg Water only then responded to the scene. Johannesburg Water’s acting manager Puleng Mopelisaid the team attended to the problem in the afternoon before 18:00.
Mopeli added that the delay in attending to the site may have been caused by sourcing material.
“Under normal circumstances, the delay may be because of sourcing material to repair the burst and the turn-around times for a burst is 48 hours.”
Ward 117 councillor Tim Truluck added that the area was indeed facing a lot of burst pipes.
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“It can take many days to fix a burst pipe after I have escalated the matter. The water infrastructure is very old and is mainly asbestos pipes that are difficult to repair.”
Truluck added, “Interestingly, recently new pipes were installed in Saxonwold which has resulted in fewer pipe bursts. I believe that Parkwood is the next area to receive new pipes in the ward – which will hopefully be in the 2023/24 financial year – and will be followed by Parktown North in the 2025/26 financial year.
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