For the first time, the City’s Human Settlements Directorate’s Public Housing Department has its own pneumatic vacuum truck, nicknamed the ‘jet vac’, which is set to enhance service delivery to residents.

The truck, which costs approximately R2,7 million aims to improve the response times to clearing sewer and stormwater blockages that have been reported by City rental housing tenants. The acquisition will save costs in the long-run.

‘With the arrival of winter, the jet vac is gearing up for a busy season, as it is more common to receive service requests for the clearing of sewer and stormwater pipeline blockages at the City’s rental housing complexes during the rainy days.

‘During the demonstration of how this jet vac can clear a blockage, it was clear that this is a machine with a mission and that it is hungry to clear winter blockages. Before the City’s Public Housing Department invested in its own ‘jet vac’, officials had to manually use rods, or follow a time-consuming process of procuring the services of a contractor via a tender or wait for the assistance of the City’s Water and Sanitation Department. It is foreseen that having access to the jet vac will enhance service delivery and response times,’ said Councillor Booi.

Approximately 250 blockages are reported on a monthly basis by rental stock tenants. Reports generally increase over the winter months as is also the case with reports of blockages in general across the city.

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‘As a City we are committed to improving service delivery to our residents and this jet vac is one example of our words and budget in action to ensure faster turn-around times in attending to blockages of sewer and stormwater pipelines. Also, in the long-run, this truck will alleviate the load on our Water and Sanitation Department, who also have to respond to other reports across the city. The truck will save us money too as we will no longer be largely dependent on contractors to get the job done,’ said Councillor Booi.

Generally there are various factors that could cause blockages in the sewer and stormwater pipes.

‘Most often than not, blockages are as a result of inappropriate objects that are flushed into the pipelines by users or through the stormwater channels. Stormwater and sewer networks were not designed to carry material such as rubble, rags and nappies among others. These materials cause blockages which affect a large number of residents, tenants and communities in general. In these instances, tenants are reminded to please discard unwanted items appropriately, such as in the refuse bins that are provided, to avoid damaging the City’s sewer and stormwater infrastructure,’ said Councillor Booi.