Recent water interruption in Marapong, Onverwacht and some parts of the town left residents frustrated and inconvenienced. On the 12th of September, Lephalale Municipality issued a message on the Facebook page, about water interruptions that would be effected between 08h00 and 16h00 daily in town. The message, which was shared an hour before the planned water interruption, indicated that there is project underway focusing mainly on the replacement of asbestos (AC Pipes to HDPE in Lephalale town), which included the Lephalale Crossing, CBD and residential areas. The Replacement of AC Pipes at Lephalale Town (CBD) is a project that is planned to run for 11 months. The project commenced on the 10th of November 2023, and it is expected to be completed on 07th of October 2024.
After numerous complaints, the Municipality indicated that it was aware of the negative impact caused as a result of the disruption of supply to all affected and a team was set up to working around the clock to ensure that the challenge is resolved. “The Municipality in collaboration with both the contractor and a consultant appointed for the project and local business people will continue working together to ensure full restoration of water in all areas. Lephalale Local Municipality sympathizes with all affected residents and would like to apologize for the inconvenience.”
The Municipality has put the following measures in place to avoid a recurrence of the 12 September 2024 incident:
• Going forward the Contractor will only be allowed to crack pipes in small quantities for replacement of medium diameter pipes ranging from 150mm- 300mm at 100-200 meters intervals and make it live rather than cracking a large portion that ends up with inadequate pressure to supply the residents.
• It is also deemed essential that the Contractor consults with the resident engineer and the project managers from the Municipality to determine the optimal length for a specific section of pipeline to be replaced.
• The Contractor is advised to ensure proper planning prior commencement with the works for allocation of resources such as materials, additional equipment and personnel to ensure a successful replacement process.
• The Contractor will pressure test the pipeline and immediately inspect the leaks or damages upon completion of every section to avoid disruption of water supply to the community.
• The resident engineer and project managers will conduct a final inspection of the pipeline to ensure that it meets the specifications.