A water outage disaster was averted yesterday when Buffalo City Metro (BCM) managed to repair a major burst pipe.
However, a number of areas in the central Eastern Cape were hit with water restrictions this week as dam levels dropped.
At 8.36am yesterday, BCM spokesman Sibusisu Cindi issued a notice urging residents in many areas of the city to brace themselves for dry taps after a burst pipe on the trunk water mains from Umzonyana water treatment works to areas of East London.
Maintenance teams rushed to the site to isolate the burst and attempt repairs but could give no indication as to when water would be restored. Efforts to find the burst were made “very difficult due to informal shacks and illegal electricity connections that are built on top of the trunk mains”, Cindi said.
But seven hours later the tone of official urgency gave way to an air of relief. At 3.24pm, Cindi announced, in capital letters: “Burst water pipe has been fixed and water is back.”
He said: “The burst pipe that we experienced earlier at Umzonyana water treatment works has since been fixed and water is now being pumped and the system is busy filling up. The people of Buffalo City have no reason to stock up on water nor panic due to the earlier water outage that we experienced.
“Water supply is being restored to all the Buffalo City affected areas.
“We expect that all affected areas will have water by this afternoon, however at first the water pressure will be lower than normal as the system recovers.
“BCM would like to thank our maintenance teams for being prompt in fixing the burst pipe.”
Earlier in the day, water outages and low pressures hit Duncan Village, Buffalo Flats, Vincent, Saxilby, Beacon Bay, Gonubie, Chiselhurst, sections of Amalinda, Gompo, Braelyn, sections of Greenfields and Nompumelelo.
A Dispatch team visited Umzonyana water treatment works yesterday, and saw 12 TVR Construction labourers were attending to the repairs.
Worker Mvuyo Jumba said they had dug a trench around the pipes two months ago in an attempt to replace the old asbestos piping with PVC pipes.
The four pipes, which range from 400mm to 600mm in diameter, supply water to the affected areas.
Jumba said the replacement pipes would make it easier to detect a leakage or problem.
“These pipes are more than 50 years old and have been underground, which makes it difficult to detect a problem so when we replace the pipes with PVC ones and replace the valves, it will make it easier to get to the burst or problem area.”
Residents in the Amathole district municipality (ADM) however were not as fortunate, as they were warned to use water sparingly and prepare for daily water cuts.
On Monday ADM released a statement saying that should the water consumption remain unchanged, taps in ADM might run dry especially in high lying areas, and this could have a dire effect on farmers in the area.
Water rationing is set to resume in areas around Butterworth, Adelaide and Bedford as a result of the Gcuwa weir no longer overflowing, prompting stringent rationing, ADM said.
To ensure the available supply lasted as long as possible, ADM has introduced water restrictions which sees the water supply turned off at 9pm daily and turned back on again at 5am the following day.
These measures came into effect on Monday and there is no set date as to when they might end.
Should the shortages remain, the amount of water treated and supplied each day would be reduced, ADM said.
Despite the lifting of water restrictions in Butterworth last week which came after rain fell, the drought-stricken area is likely to again face hardships.
Last year, a water shortage and low dam levels forced residents to use water sparingly.
Reduced amounts of water being extracted from the Fish River scheme will also see the levels of the Andrew Turpin Dam in Bedford reduced while water supply from a dam near Adelaide will be reduced by 30%.
Residents there are prohibited from more than 500 litres per day per household.
The following has been prohibited: filling swimming and paddling pools and ornamental ponds, the watering of gardens, bowling greens and fairways, and the use of sprinklers and hosepipes. — oreillya@timesmedia.co.za
BCM water crisis averted after major pipe bursts
However, a number of areas in the central Eastern Cape were hit with water restrictions this week as dam levels dropped.
At 8.36am yesterday, BCM spokesman Sibusisu Cindi issued a notice urging residents in many areas of the city to brace themselves for dry taps after a burst pipe on the trunk water mains from Umzonyana water treatment works to areas of East London.
Maintenance teams rushed to the site to isolate the burst and attempt repairs but could give no indication as to when water would be restored. Efforts to find the burst were made “very difficult due to informal shacks and illegal electricity connections that are built on top of the trunk mains”, Cindi said.
But seven hours later the tone of official urgency gave way to an air of relief. At 3.24pm, Cindi announced, in capital letters: “Burst water pipe has been fixed and water is back.”
He said: “The burst pipe that we experienced earlier at Umzonyana water treatment works has since been fixed and water is now being pumped and the system is busy filling up. The people of Buffalo City have no reason to stock up on water nor panic due to the earlier water outage that we experienced.
“Water supply is being restored to all the Buffalo City affected areas.
“We expect that all affected areas will have water by this afternoon, however at first the water pressure will be lower than normal as the system recovers.
“BCM would like to thank our maintenance teams for being prompt in fixing the burst pipe.”
Earlier in the day, water outages and low pressures hit Duncan Village, Buffalo Flats, Vincent, Saxilby, Beacon Bay, Gonubie, Chiselhurst, sections of Amalinda, Gompo, Braelyn, sections of Greenfields and Nompumelelo.
A Dispatch team visited Umzonyana water treatment works yesterday, and saw 12 TVR Construction labourers were attending to the repairs.
Worker Mvuyo Jumba said they had dug a trench around the pipes two months ago in an attempt to replace the old asbestos piping with PVC pipes.
The four pipes, which range from 400mm to 600mm in diameter, supply water to the affected areas.
Jumba said the replacement pipes would make it easier to detect a leakage or problem.
“These pipes are more than 50 years old and have been underground, which makes it difficult to detect a problem so when we replace the pipes with PVC ones and replace the valves, it will make it easier to get to the burst or problem area.”
Residents in the Amathole district municipality (ADM) however were not as fortunate, as they were warned to use water sparingly and prepare for daily water cuts.
On Monday ADM released a statement saying that should the water consumption remain unchanged, taps in ADM might run dry especially in high lying areas, and this could have a dire effect on farmers in the area.
Water rationing is set to resume in areas around Butterworth, Adelaide and Bedford as a result of the Gcuwa weir no longer overflowing, prompting stringent rationing, ADM said.
To ensure the available supply lasted as long as possible, ADM has introduced water restrictions which sees the water supply turned off at 9pm daily and turned back on again at 5am the following day.
These measures came into effect on Monday and there is no set date as to when they might end.
Should the shortages remain, the amount of water treated and supplied each day would be reduced, ADM said.
Despite the lifting of water restrictions in Butterworth last week which came after rain fell, the drought-stricken area is likely to again face hardships.
Last year, a water shortage and low dam levels forced residents to use water sparingly.
Reduced amounts of water being extracted from the Fish River scheme will also see the levels of the Andrew Turpin Dam in Bedford reduced while water supply from a dam near Adelaide will be reduced by 30%.
Residents there are prohibited from more than 500 litres per day per household.
The following has been prohibited: filling swimming and paddling pools and ornamental ponds, the watering of gardens, bowling greens and fairways, and the use of sprinklers and hosepipes. — oreillya@timesmedia.co.za
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