Rustenburg – Water supply will be temporarily disrupted in Cape Town on Tuesday, when a second dummy shut down will be conducted.
The City said water and sanitation directorate would be conducting a second dummy shutdown on its 915mm diameter water supply main to the Pelican Park, Eagle Park, Peacock Close, Pelican Heights, Phumlani, Lotus River, Ottery, Parkwood Estate, Grassy Park, Fairways, Plumstead and Wynberg areas from 9am until 4pm on Tuesday.
“This dummy shutdown will assist the planning teams to assess the capability of the water supply network for re-routing of water supply in preparation for the actual shutdown, before making water tankers and standpipes available.
“This is a very important exercise as it provides an indication of the extent of the impact and what mitigation measures need to be implemented and what the possibilities are to maintain the water supply to these areas.
“It is no mean feat and our maintenance teams will be doing their best to minimise the impact in terms of areas and disruption time frame,” acting mayoral committee member for water and sanitation, Siseko Mbandezi, said.
The dummy shut down would result in a water supply disruption to these areas and possibly lower than usual water pressure in the immediate surrounding areas.
This work forms part of the final preparation for the shutdown to repair a leak on a water main which would happen from 12pm on Saturday, 5 November 2022 overnight until 4pm on Sunday, 6 November 2022.
Mbandezi said the dummy shut-off done on October 26 did not yield the desired results as the water was still passing through some critical control valves while in a closed position which did not allow for a complete shut-off.
The water supply has to be shut-off completely to enable the maintenance team to conduct the repairs in a safe working environment.
This has now resulted in the additional areas of Pelican Park, Eagle Park, Peacock Close, Pelican Heights and Phumlani being included in the list of affected areas.
“This work will inform the Water and Sanitation maintenance team of the course of action to be taken to address the current serious leak on the 915mm diameter water main,” he said.
He requested residents to store sufficient water upfront in clean sealed containers for domestic use during this period and to ensure that all taps were closed to prevent water loss and/or damage when the supply was restored.
“The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused, but it must explore opportunities within its water supply infrastructure network to benefit its consumers.”
IOL