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PARKDENE GETS NEW WATER PIPELINE WORTH R3 MILLION REPLACING A 40-YEAR-OLD PIPELINE

George Municipality is currently replacing a 40-year-old water pipeline infrastructure in Parkdene that is causing high water losses due to frequent pipe bursts. According to Lionel Daniels, Acting Director: Civil Engineering, the Parkdene pipe replacement is funded by the Department of Water and Sanitation, worth approximately R3 million. The existing very old pipework is replaced with Un-plasticised Poli-vinyl Chloride (PVC-u) pipes with new fire and gate valves to facilitate maintenance and operations going forward.

 

Multi-year pipe replacement programme

Daniels said that this is the start of a comprehensive pipe replacement programme for the Parkdene, Conville and Protea Park Areas over a multi-year period.  The initial phase will be funded by the department through the Water Services Infrastructure Grant or WSIG programme, which aims to accelerate backlog reduction and enhance the sustainability of services.  This programme supports the Municipality in implementing water conservation and water demand management (WC/WDM) projects.

Executive Mayor Leon Van Wyk noted during his site inspection that the administration endeavours to conduct pre-emptive placement of these water lines to ensure breakages can be dealt with efficiently. “PVC allows for the introduction of valves and metres. The valves make it easier to isolate areas and meters will help with the management of water flow. “

 

Job Creation

Currently, approximately ten people are being employed out of the community with accredited training to be rolled out through a number of municipal projects to increase the capacity of the communities served by the projects to enhance their job creation potential going forward.

 

Safety

The work is undertaken in short sections to allow the trenches to be closed at the end of each day’s work.  This minimises inconvenience to residents and ensures access to each property at the end of each day as well as the safety of pedestrians.  The work is challenging due to a number of existing services being located within the sidewalk.

 

Duration of Work

The four-month contract is currently just over the halfway mark in terms of time, with a due completion date expected in early June 2022.  There have been some delays in the recent past with the rainfall experienced in the region.

 

Next steps

Approximately 800m of a 160mm diameter water pipeline along Main Road, Parkdene, needs to be replaced, with all associated fire hydrants and isolating valves.  At the same time, new erf connection pipework will be provided under Main Street by directional drilling. To protect the recently resurfaced Main Road, a number of the existing erf connections will be reinstated with new connection lines being drilled under the road thereby saving the newly resurfaced road.

 

Captions:

164508: Trenches on site are closed off daily to ensure access to properties.

155512:  Sites are being rehabilitated after work is completed in a section.

135443:  Several existing services like electrical cables, provide challenges in laying a new pipeline.

 

Parkdene water: Executive Mayor of George, Ald Leon van Wyk, Adrian van Molendorff from Civil Engineering Services and Cllr Henry Hill visited the site in Parkdene.

Ends.