Pretoria – The Department of Water and Sanitation says it has successfully completed the planned outage of the raw water bulk pipeline between Jericho pump station and Kriel power station.
The outage started on 20 October and ends today.
The pipeline is over 27 years old and is classified as ageing infrastructure.
“The department is mandated to ensure security of water supply for all facets of the lives and livelihoods of South Africans. Part of this mandate includes regular maintenance of its infrastructure throughout the length and breadth of the land,” the department said in a statement.
During the outage, the communities of Ermelo, Davel and Kriel as well as Eskom power stations, mines, farmers and various individual were given water from tanks that were strategically placed within the communities.
“The department has learnt vital lessons from this experience that proper planning and execution, married to critical consultation with end users, cannot be substituted.
“This experience will remain part of the department’s standing operations, as further planned and needed outages on other pipelines continue to be rolled out,” the department said.
The department has also thanked communities for their patience and cooperation. – SAnews.gov.za
