Kriel planned water maintenance outage update
The planned water outage affecting the bulk water supply to the communities of Kriel in Emalahleni Local Municipality that started on 04 August is progressing well and the situation will be back to normal on Monday 17 August as the bulk water supply is expected to be restored by then.
The water supply outage was mainly due to Eskom’s request to tie in the permanent deviation of the pipeline as Eskom is constructing a railway line from Ermelo to Majuba Power Station. The railway line crosses the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) pipeline between Rietspruit reservoir and Davel.
The deviation of the structure has been approved by the DWS engineers and they are involved with the quality control during the construction phase. This is phase 2 of the tie-in project which is the final phase as phase 1 was done in February 2015. This also afforded the Department the opportunity to conduct maintenance and repair work on the bulk pipeline.
During the bulk water supply outage the communities, water is supplied by water tankers to strategically placed jojo tanks within a reasonable distance to ensure that communities have access to water in their areas of residence.
The Department, Emalahleni Local Municipality and all stakeholders involved request patience and cooperation from all affected during this outage period. Please consider everyone in the supply system; make storage preparations if possible and use available water sparingly and optimally.
The Department apologises for the inconvenience caused; however this planned outage is important for maintenance and sustainability of the infrastructure and reliable future bulk water supply.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau, DWS Director, Media Liaison
Cell: 082 874 2942
