WATER outages have become a recurring nightmare for residents of ward 64 leaving many without water for prolonged periods. Councillor Gavin Hegter clearly details the root cause of the problem at Woodlands Reservoir one and two
“The problem isn’t necessarily that the infrastructure is old as the pumps are working. However, there is a fault that has been occurring when there is an electricity outage in the area. The pumps fail to automatically restart. As with all reservoirs, the Woodlands Reservoir is meant to operate remotely. So if a pump fails to restart it’s supposed to send a signal to the control room. They get a notification that the pump is off, then technicians can investigate. The problem that we are having is that the telemetry system, which is used to communicate, is not working. So what happens is that we only find out if there’s been a power failure or, like more recently last week, after an electrical fault on the line to the pumps. But, we only find out once the tower is dry that the pump is not working.
“These pumps pump water from the reservoirs up to the tower, from there it feeds by gravity to the area.” He explained that these areas that receive water supply include parts of Yellowwood Park and Woodhaven, a large area of Montclair right down to Woodlands.
“Obviously the higher areas get affected quicker because the pressure drops whereas the lower areas would still have water lasting longer.”
The problem has become so persistent that Hegter said that it’s got to a stage where if he knows there is a power outage in the area, he makes it his personal mission to call the telemetry subdivision to get someone to check the pumps after the power has returned.
“Every time I’ve raised this with the head of the department of water and sanitation, I’m told that they will look into the issue but because it’s a massive outlay and a huge expense and there’s just no budget for it.
“The last outage the power kept tripping, the department had electricians working on the pump a week ago. The fault was repaired but it tripped again from last Saturday night through to Monday morning. The tower had run dry and the pipes were running empty. Then they had to get into the facility and they found that it was one of the phases of the cable supply was tripping and had to get the electricity department to assist.
“The community must note that there are workers working on the problem and that the people on the ground, such as the technicians, want to work and want things working properly but their hands are also tied. There are just no resources, the city and its departments have run out of money.
“I understand the resident’s frustration and the fact that they pay their rates and taxes, but unfortunately, the reality of it is that with the current situation of the city, service delivery is on a downward spiral,” said Hegter who assured the community that he is doing everything in his power to report and escalate various municipal matters.
