Knysna replaces ageing water pipeline
THE Knysna Municipality has started replacing old water pipelines following water cuts to residents as a result of burst pipes.
The Knysna Municipality said the town had been experiencing a number of pipe breaks, which had left residents and businesses frustrated.
The municipality’s technical services department had worked around the clock to repair various pipes and restore water services to the town.
Mayor Eleanore BouwSpies said this had been a recurring problem that had affected the municipality for a number of years.
Municipal manager Kam Chetty attributed most of the major pipe breaks to ageing infrastructure, weather and soil conditions.
“The water infrastructure in the CBD was installed over 50 years ago and was one of the first water reticulation systems that was constructed in Knysna.
“This infrastructure has reached its lifespan in engineering terms – a typical life cycle of water infrastructure is 30 years. Moreover, the water pipes are made from asbestos, which is brittle, and the frequency of breaks has been exacerbated by the extreme weather conditions, particularly the expansion and contraction.”
To address this problem, the town’s Mayco members resolved in an urgent meeting to begin in February with the valve replacement programme to reduce the impact of the breakages by isolating the impact to smaller areas.
The municipality said this would not completely stop the pipe breaks, however it would assist with minimising water losses.
They also resolved to develop a scope and cost estimate for the replacement of the entire aged water network in the town.
The funding for these interventions would be discussed in council as a matter of priority. The Mayco members agreed that the replacement could not be postponed for much longer.
“We have commenced with the replacement programme, this includes upgrading of the ageing water lines.
“The old asbestos pipes are replaced with UPVC (plastic) pipeline, which is more conducive to the soil condition. In the areas where this has been implemented the number of pipe breaks has significantly decreased.”
Meanwhile, the Oudtshoorn Municipal disaster management and electricity department have had their hands full following thunderstorms at the weekend.
Residents in the northern part of Oudtshoorn, including Matjiesrivier, Kombuisplaas and adjacent areas, have been affected by the outages due to damaged poles and fallen trees.
Municipality spokesperson Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe said among the affected facilities was the Cango Wildlife Ranch, which experienced power outages caused by strong winds.
A circuit breaker blew up in Park Road also causing an electricity outage
The electricity department managed to restore supply in all affected areas on Monday, while the repairs on street lights started yesterday.
“Unfortunately only 3mm rain was measured in the catchment area of the Raubenheimer Dam, so the level did not rise and is standing at 61%.”