Two major incidents have occurred that have caused problems for the City's water supply to the Strand/Somerset West area.

Strand
The pressure regulating valve in Mill Street in the Strand malfunctioned on Saturday, 10 June 2006. This allowed a pressure of 17 bar into the water reticulation network that normally receives 4,5 bar. The result was enormous pipe damage. Teams from City Water Services have been working around the clock since Saturday to repair the pipe failures. Unfortunately the extent of the damage cannot yet be ascertained as the repair teams still experience pipe failures every time the system is repressurised. More failures could be expected.

Somerset West Filtration Works
On Monday night storm winds severely damaged the roofing structures at the Water Filtration Works in the Helderberg Nature Reserve. The roofing structure collapsed inwards into the filtration works. The damage is of such an extent that the whole works has to be shut down. These works supply 60 % of Somerset West with water. An alternative supply has been introduced from Blackheath, but it is not sufficient to ensure a normal supply. This shortage affects the whole area of Somerset West and we urgently need residents to conserve water, especially in the warm days predicted after the passing cold fronts. We request residents to cut back on all non-essential water usage e.g. not water gardens and lawns, not use irrigation systems and not wash cars for approximately two weeks while repairs are being carried out.

Issued by:
Directorate: Communication and Marketing
City of Cape Town
Email: media@capetown.gov.za
Tel: 021 400 2201
Fax: 021 957 0023

Media queries:
Sipho Mosai
Director: Water Services
City of Cape Town
Tel: 021 400 4859