Pictured: A burst water pipe in Morninghill

Johannesburg Water is experiencing an increase in the number of infrastructure failures due to contractors from various companies damaging water and sewer infrastructure while they are executing their work, according to a statement released by Johannesburg Water (JW) Manager: Marketing and Communication, Millicent Kabwe on Monday 20 May 2013.

“When contractors are busy with infrastructure work, like replacing fibre optic cables in the road reserve, there is a high chance that the other underground infrastructure like water or sewer lines will be damaged and thus cause interruptions of services to areas fed by the damaged pipeline,” said Kabwe.

She added that this problem is contributing to the increased number of burst pipes experienced across the city.

“Although all possible precaution is taken by Johannesburg Water to minimize the chances of damages, it still happens and it is not totally in our control. We are encouraging residents to report interruptions through the City’s call centre number 011 375 – 5555 or send an e-mail to customerserviceemails@jwater.co.za to minimize the impact when our infrastructure is damaged.

“We will do our best to respond to reported damaged infrastructure within a reasonable time to limit the interruption of services to the residents,” concluded Kabwe.