Planned water supply maintenance from 25 November to 29 November 2024

22 November 2024

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will be doing planned work in the identified areas, which will result in water supply disruptions. This critical maintenance work is done on our water-supply infrastructure to benefit customers. Residents in the affected areas are encouraged to take note of the work that will take place and prepare accordingly.

Maintenance work, including pipe and valve installations, repairs and replacements

Residents are advised to store enough water in advance, as a precautionary measure. Water should ideally be stored in clean, sealed containers.

Planned maintenance work will result in water supply disruption to these areas:

Blackheath Water Treatment Plant shutdown

The Water and Sanitation Directorate will shut off the Blackheath Water Treatment Plant from 08:00 to 16:00 on Monday, 25 November 2024. This will allow the electrical maintenance team to service the circuit breakers in the onsite electrical distribution boards. The Blackheath Water Treatment Plant’s supply areas will not be affected as the Blackheath Reservoir will be topped up in advance. Residents and businesses across the City are, however, kindly requested to reduce their water consumption during this period.

Westridge (Somerset West)

The water supply from the Wingerd Reservoir to this area will be shut off from 09:00 until 17:00 on Tuesday, 26 November 2024. This will allow the maintenance team to install a pressure reducing valve on the water supply main. Affected residents and businesses are kindly advised to store water in clean, sealed containers ahead of the disruption to ensure adequate supply.

Part of Cape Town CBD

The water supply to the area along Roeland Street between De Villiers Street and Jutland Street, including Brandweer Street and Waterloo Street from 09:00 until 17:00 on Tuesday, 26 November 2024. This will allow the maintenance team to do valve replacements and additional maintenance of the water supply infrastructure. Affected residents and businesses are kindly advised to store water in clean, sealed containers ahead of the disruption to ensure adequate supply.

Part of Paarden Eiland

The water supply to Section Street and surrounding areas in Paarden Eiland will be shut off from 09:00 until 17:00 on the following dates:  

• Tuesday, 26 November 2024: A test shut-off will be conducted to assess the impact before replacement work begins.
• Thursday, 28 November 2024: The faulty critical control valve on the water supply network will be replaced.

Affected businesses are kindly advised to store water in clean, sealed containers ahead of the disruption to ensure adequate supply.

Strand

The water supply to the Strand area will be shut off from 08:00 until 17:00 on Wednesday, 27 November 2024. This will allow our maintenance team to connect the newly installed water mains in Herschell Street and Grey Street in Strand to the existing water supply infrastructure. The entire Strand area will unfortunately be affected as the impacted area could not be reduced. Affected residents and businesses are kindly requested to store enough water in clean, sealed containers in advance.

Steenbras Water Treatment Plant shutdown

The Water and Sanitation Directorate will shut off the Steenbras Water Treatment Plant from 08:00 on Wednesday, 27 November 2024 until 22:00 on Friday, 29 November 2024. This will allow the maintenance team to do a technical assessment of the faulty 800mm diameter control valve on the outlet of the plant to refurbish and replace components of the concrete-encased valve. Water supply will be rerouted from other sources to the Steenbras Water Treatment Plant supply areas during this period. Residents and businesses across the City are however requested to reduce their water consumption during this period.

Retreat

The water supply to parts of the area bounded by 10th Avenue, Velma Road, Sasmeer Road, Leytonstone Road, a portion of Consort Road and possibly immediate surrounding roads, will be shut off from 09:00 until 17:00 on Wednesday, 27 November 2024. This will allow for the safe connection of the newly installed water pipelines along Loch and Velma Roads to the existing water reticulation system. Residents and businesses across the City are however requested to reduce their water consumption during this period.

This work forms part of the Water and Sanitation Directorate’s proactive infrastructure maintenance and upgrade programme, which ensures the future continuity of water supply by addressing the issue of unaccounted for water.

Zero-pressure tests (ZPT) and conditional assessments will be done on the water supply network in the following areas:

• Tuesday, 26 November 2024, from 10:00 until 16:00: Tygerberg Office Park, Belvedere, De Tijger and Avondale.
• Thursday, 28 November 2024, from 10:00 until 16:00: Radloff Park, Golden Acre, Roundhay, Natures Valley, Morningside, Land En Zeezicht, Lionviham and Parel Vallei (Somerset West)

Zero-pressure testing and step-testing are part of the installation process for zone management infrastructure. Tests are done in advance to see if any unmapped inflows need to be considered before installing new infrastructure (such as pressure reducing valves for pressure management).

In these affected areas, some residents may experience low water pressure, and some may have no water coming out of their taps for some time during the testing period. Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict which exact areas or streets will experience disruptions.

Additional zone management investigations will be carried out to ensure that existing infrastructure is operating effectively. Pressure fluctuations may be experienced, but every effort will be made to minimise the impact as far as possible.

This work forms part of the City’s Water Demand Management Strategy. Managing water pressure more effectively reduces the possibility of pipe bursts and water wastage.

The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience.

What residents need to know about larger-scale planned water supply disruptions:

Careful consideration has been given to the planning of this work to ensure it is being done at a time that is least disruptive to the water supply.

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.

Sometimes the maintenance work can be more complex than anticipated, which means the work could take longer.

For a short period after the supply has been restored, the water may be discoloured 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.

For updates on the maintenance work (and location of tankers where applicable), follow @CityofCTAlerts, which is a City of Cape Town X account.

How residents are advised to prepare for planned water supply disruptions:

• Store enough water in clean, sealed containers in advance for use during this period.
• to prevent any water loss and/or damage when the water supply is restored.

End

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office