A potential water supply crisis was averted last weekend thanks to a member of the public who reported a fault timeously and the prompt action taken by the City of Cape Town’s Water and Sanitation Department.

At about 15:00 on Friday afternoon, 6 January 2012, the City’s Water and Sanitation Department responded to an alert that its bulk water supply line which feeds the Blackheath-Kuilsriver area had been vandalised.

Upon investigation it was found that vandals had attempted to remove the air valve on the 1,5m diameter water supply line. The water in the line is under immense pressure and thus began spewing through the opening caused by the dislodged valve. Fortunately a member of the public spotted the leak and reported it immediately. This prevented potential disaster as the leak was in an isolated area of the pipe and could have caused considerable damage and water loss.

To effect the necessary repairs, a section of the bulk water supply had to be shut down and the water flow diverted via another line. While doing so, staff found that the closest isolation valve had also been rendered irreparable as a result of the vandalism.

The City provided water tankers to those sections of the surrounding communities where the supply had been lost. Repairs continued right through the night and were completed by midday on Saturday. The water supply and pressure to the affected areas were normalised.

“The Water and Sanitation crews, consisting of specialised staff from the Bulk Water and Reticulation sections did a sterling job. They avoided major water losses from this water supply line. I commend them for their hard work and long hours spent attending to this problem. In this case we were very fortunate that a member of the public reported the incident immediately,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services, Councillor Shehaam Sims.

The Water and Sanitation Department expressed its concern about these mindless acts of vandalism of infrastructure on which the wellbeing of all residents depends.

“For small personal gain individuals who damage the water supply network inflict harm on entire communities. Repairing the damage is very expensive and places a severe burden on the City’s already strained resources. Approximately 50 – 60 litres of water per second was lost in this particular instance, and if it was not dealt with so expeditiously the loss would have been considerably greater. The member of the public who had alerted the City played a very significant role in limiting the damage and water loss and I would like to express my sincere appreciation for this. Residents have an important role to play and we are always grateful when they advise us of any problems or faults. We appeal to residents to please report any acts of vandalism to the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089,” said Councillor Sims.