Residents requested to reduce non-essential water consumption this weekend
16 November 2021
The City’s Water and Sanitation Department will be shutting down production at the Faure Water Treatment Plant temporarily from 00:00 on Friday 19 November 2021 until Monday 22 November at 00:00 to enable the insertion of a T-piece on its 2400mm diameter bulk water main.
Cape Town residents are requested to please minimise non-essential consumption of water this weekend to take pressure off our water treatment plants.
The Faure Water Treatment Plant, which is one of the major treatment plants supplying the city, will be offline from Friday 19 November at 00:00 until Monday 22 November at 00:00.
This is to facilitate work taking place on the 2400mm diameter Faure bulk water pipeline.
Arrangements have been made to step up production at the Blackheath and Steenbras Water Treatment Plants to compensate while Faure is offline, and residents should not experience any significant disruption of water supply as a result. General demand reduction will however help further reduce the risk of unforeseen complications or pipe bursts associated with the work.
- The work involving the insertion of the T-piece on the 2400mm diameter bulk water pipeline forms part of the City of Cape Town’s R162 million Baden Powell Drive bulk water pipeline project, which will strengthen supply to thousands of Khayelitsha residents. The new infrastructure, currently under construction, will be linked to the 2400mm diameter pipeline via this T-piece to strengthen the water supply and boost water pressure in the eastern sections of Khayelitsha, which have seen rapid growth recently. The full Khayelitsha area is currently supplied by the bulk main on the north-western side, some distance from the eastern region.
The only areas impacted by this work are the Cape Film Studios and Amazon off Baden-Powell Drive, but they will be serviced by water tankers during this period. The Stellenbosch municipality has also been informed to prepare for this as a portion of their drinking water is supplied from this bulk water main.
- The Water and Sanitation Department also intends to replace a faulty cross-connection valve linking the 760mm pipeline to the 2400mm bulk water pipeline. This might result in lower water pressure in the Eerste River area between Van Riebeeck, Strand Road and Faure Road, and the areas of De Wijnlanden and surrounds next to Baden Powell Drive. Water tankers will be on standby to supply these areas with water for domestic consumption.
Residents in Eerste River, De Wijnlanden and surrounds are kindly requested to store water upfront in clean sealed containers for domestic use during this period. They are also requested to keep their taps closed during this period to avoid any water loss and/or damage when the water supply is restored.
The request for residents to reduce consumption while work is under way is a precaution to minimise strain on the system while one of the major treatment plants is offline.
The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused, but it is imperative that it maintains and enhances its water supply infrastructure to benefit its consumers.
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
