Water and Sanitation teams working around the clock to restore water supply to Blue Downs and surrounding areas

24 January 2022

The City’s Water and Sanitation team continues to work on the Blue Downs pipeline that had an excessive leak affecting Blue Downs, Brentwood Park, Camelot, Hagley, Highgate, Malibu Village, Nuwe Begin, Silversands, Summerville, Sunbird Park, Wembley and Wesbank. The water supply to the affected areas will unfortunately not be restored tonight as initially anticipated due to worse than expected damage requiring additional work. At this stage, with no further delay, it is anticipated that water supply will be restored by tomorrow Tuesday 25 January at 20:00.

The City apologises profusely for the ongoing delay in returning water supply to the affected communities. Our teams have been hard at work since 09:00 this morning to repair the damaged pipeline. We are mindful that the limited supply of water has an impact on both residents and our domestic and agricultural animals. The department is prioritising repair work and is working throughout the night to return the water service as soon as possible.

Staff are on site and have started replacing the 650mm pipeline, but during excavation, it was found that the flange adaptor that connects the two different pipes were damaged by the high pressure water leak. The City’s Equipment and Asset Management Department is now busy manufacturing a fitting that will secure the new pipeline to the existing network so the work can be completed and the water can be restored.
 
Water tankers
We want to assure residents that the department will have five water tankers rotating through as many communities as possible. These locations will be communicated by the councillors. Schools and other vulnerable groups in the affected areas will be prioritised.

Residents are encouraged to fill clean, sealed containers with water for domestic purposes.

Residents are advised to visit the City Alerts Twitter page or consult their ward councillor for updates including the water trucks delivery service.

Restoring water
The Water and Sanitation Department is expected to restore water to the area by 20:00 on Tuesday 25 January 2022.

Residents are reminded that their water supply will be restored gradually as the water starts to fill the network, to avoid consequential bursts. It must also be taken into account that while we are busy filling the pipeline, residents will already be drawing from the supply which will then extend the period of restoring the water supply to all the affected communities.

Our teams are working non-stop until water supply is restored.

The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience during this time.

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office