City of Johannesburg Press Statement by Executive Mayor, Cllr Herman Mashaba
Over R16 billion investment needed for ageing water infrastructure
24 November 2017
Yesterday I was joined by the Speaker of Council, Cllr Vasco da Gama, and Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Cllr Nico de Jager, and officials from Joburg Water to inspect the main water pipeline that runs through Linbro Park landfill site.
The burst pipeline affected residents living in Sandton and surrounding areas such as Bryanston, Woodmead, Morningside, Alexandra and Linbro Park.
The burst water pipeline comes as a result of decades-long infrastructure backlog which my administration inherited.
Officials from Joburg Water revealed to me that the pipeline was lying 35 metres underneath the Linbro Park landfill site, an unstable area designated for waste management and recycling.
Plans are currently underway to repair the burst pipe as it affected water supply which in turn affected the supply of water to reservoirs running dry. To this effect, I have been informed that our reservoirs are almost filled up to full capacity and that most areas in Sandton and surrounds have their water supply back.
Over the past three days the City provided residents across the affected area with the supply of water by availing water tanks. Although the supply of water is back to its normal level of supply, Joburg water will continue making water tanks available for any areas which might still experience low or no supply of water.
I would like to thank residents for their understanding at this time. As a resident of the Sandton area myself, I too am affected, and I understand the frustration of being without water.
I would also like to thank all employees of Joburg Water, Pikitup, Regional leadership and key stakeholders for taking an active part in ensuring that we give our residents the supply of water essential for their livelihood.
As a City we are facing a massive R170 billion infrastructure backlog, of which over R16 billion alone is required for our water infrastructure.
Due to the severity of not only this long-term challenge, but also the immediate challenge of repairing the massive leak, I ask for resident’s patience as we steadily work to not only fix this leak, but also tend to all other necessary maintenance requirements.
Due to the severity of this leak, I must forewarn residents that more water outages are to be expected, as we are discovering new leaks while we repair the current ones.
The decades-long neglect of infrastructure maintenance means there is still a huge mountain to climb to effectively address our City’s ageing roads and traffic challenges. However, this administration is committed to addressing the City’s challenges for the benefit of all our residents.
Cllr Herman Mashaba
Executive Mayor City of Johannesburg
For further information, please
contact:
Luyanda Mfeka
Acting Director of Communications
Office of the Executive Mayor City of Johannesburg
Tel: 011 407 6727
Cellular: 076 171 5978
Email: [email protected]
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