The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate has turned the final nuts and bolts on a new section of water pipe that was successfully installed in Parkwood.

The team has been working tirelessly to replace this section of water pipe that leaked because of a vandalised valve on the 915mm diameter bulk reticulation water main in Blackbird Avenue.

This emergency work has resulted in a water supply disruption to areas in the south.

Updated areas affected include:

Pelican Park, Eagle Park, New Horizon, Peacock Close, Pelican Heights, Strandfontein, San Remo, Bay View, Phumlani, Zeekoevlei, Grassy Park, Lotus River, Schaapkraal, Ottery, Wetton, Knole Park, Retreat, Heathfield, Steenberg, Elfindale, Marina Da Gama, Lavender Hill, Seawinds, Vrygrond, Parkwood Estate, Fairways, Southfield, Plumstead, Wynberg, Muizenberg, Lakeside, Westlake, Kirstenhof and Diep River areas.

During the course of the day, the Deep South including Masiphumelele was also affected.

What residents can expect going forward?

• Now that the repair has been completed, the water will slowly be released into the network which will take some time. If all goes as planned, water will be restored incrementally.
• For a short period, after supply has been restored, the water may be discoloured and/or look milky. This is because of trapped air in the pipes. If left to stand in a glass, the appearance will become clear, like normal.
• The City will continue to monitor the supply until it has been completely restored.

Reminders:

• Please only use water from authorised safe drinking water supply points such as the water tankers that have been provided by the City.
• All sites where water and sanitation repairs and upgrades are conducted are deemed to be construction sites and, as such are off-limits to members of the public.
• For updates on the work (and location of tankers where applicable), follow @CityofCTAlerts which is a City of Cape Town X account (formerly Twitter).

‘Thank you to all our residents for their patience while the emergency work was taking place. The City apologises for the inconvenience caused to all affected residents. We are aware that this has impacted a large area of the city. However, responding to and repairing this vandalism quickly has been necessary for the city to do to protect our water supply infrastructure. Water tankers will still be assisting communities with water.

‘The Water and Sanitation Directorate will continue to issue regular communication via the ward councillors to keep residents updated.

‘We also need to thank all our City teams who have helped- Bulk Water (Conveyance Branch), Reticulation, Hillstar Welding (Engineering and Asset Management Branch), Law Enforcement and Fleet for assisting with drivers and vehicles. Thank you also to the community leadership for helping to keep residents informed and calm under the circumstances. The City once again apologise for the inconvenience,’ said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation.