Johannesburg Water completed an intervention to boost water supply by linking Hursthill 1 and Northcliff reservoirs
Photo by: Johannesburg Water
Johannesburg Water says it has completed a crucial intervention to improve and secure a steady water supply to the struggling Commando System (comprising the Brixton, Crosby and Hursthill reservoirs).
This is one of the entity’s efforts to improve the poor water supply to the Hursthill 1 reservoir and deal with the issue of ageing infrastructure.
The Langlaagte Depot embarked on this vital project to resolve the poor water supply by linking the Hursthill 1 reservoir to the Northcliff reservoir. The project began on April 1 and was completed on May 5.
After conducting the necessary modelling, it was determined that it was possible to link the two systems so that the Northcliff reservoir – which is stable and has enough bulk supply – can boost the struggling Hursthill 1 reservoir.
The situation of water supply had deteriorated to a level where the reservoir runs empty regularly owing to Rand Water supply challenges. Rand Water is the bulk water supplier providing water to Johannesburg Water, which then supplies it to consumers.
A 315-mm-diameter water pipe link was installed between the existing 600-mm-diameter and 450-mm-diameter distribution steel pipes. The link was installed at the intersection of Long road and Eighth street in Newlands.
This intervention is part of Johannesburg Water’s mitigation strategies to address the ongoing issues of water outages and poor water supply, especially to improve and secure a stable water supply to the Commando System.