Blue Downs residents plead for repairs of infrastructure

WATER main pipes have a 50-year lifespan and the regular bursts are due to common causes, not the ageing infrastructure.

This is according to Mayco member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien, who was responding to Table View and Blue Downs residents on the issue of old water main infrastructure which has now reportedly resulted in frequent pipe bursts.

He said about R24 million would be spent on water main repairs in Table View during this financial year, but there are no priority plans for Blue Downs.

Residents blamed the old rusty pipes, which they said are over 30 years old, and the influx of people moving into the new developments for the water issues in their communities.

There have been a couple of pipe bursts in Table View affecting Wood Drive, North Road, Circle Road, Bay Way, Gie Road and Blaauwberg Road. Sepp Fischer, a resident, said they have been trying to address the issue and advising on a vast upgrade since 2002.

This has, however, fallen on deaf ears as only the damaged section is fixed.

Fischer said there have been budget allocations made and minimal repairs done before, but no permanent solutions.

Heather Kensley, another resident, said: “This has been a recurring matter affecting most of the area and we are engaging the City to find solutions. The roads are damaged and the state of North and Wood Drive is just unacceptable.”

Philippe Roche, another resident, added: “It’s a calamity, a disaster. But the City keeps raising the rates.

Badroodien said: “The pipelines and systems are designed for a lifespan of approximately 50 years and more, with interventions such as pressure management.

“The City has a pipe replacement programme which is budgeted for annually. Table View forms part of this ongoing programme.

“Pipe replacement to the value of (about) R14.3m and a length of 8.3km was completed for the period October 2021 to July 2022 in the Table View and Flamingo Vlei area. There are plans to replace a further 6km of water mains to a value of R10m.”

Blue Downs resident Karin Florence said: “The City is just failing us. It’s clear the existing infrastructure can’t keep up with the demand nor bear the normal pressure needed to supply the community, yet they refuse to do thorough upgrades.

“I saw them replacing a broken pipe with another rusty pipe which was clearly removed and fixed from elsewhere. What is it going to take for them to see the problem is getting out of hand and we’re suffering as ratepayers?”

Rowena du Plessis said they had issues since January between Forest Heights and Fountain Head. The latest incident occurred three weeks ago and the community has since been left with low water pressure, with some households’ water supply running dry for a couple of days.

She said whenever the City performs repairs, they know the problem is bound to happen again.

In response, Badroodien said the outages in Blue Downs related to an isolated incident which resulted in a prolonged outage.

“Blue Downs is a relatively new development. There are also minimal burst pipes in the area when there are no vandalised systems or the pressure management devices are not acting up.

“As a result, there is no priority for upgrades or replacements in the Blue Downs area,” said Badroodien.

Commenting on the growth of population in the new developments, he said: “All new developments are conducted according to the water master plan, which dictates the installation of new infrastructure as calculated with the use of a hydraulic programme and model.”