UITENHAGE - 8 DAYS LATER AND WATER IS FINALLY RESTORED TO LARGE PARTS OF UITENHAGE & DESPATCH

Water has been restored to large parts of Uitenhage and Despatch eight days after a burst of a main water pipeline.

Municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said the reservoirs were filling up.

Last Monday, a team of contractors were working to repair one of the main water pipelines when a contract worker died as a trench had filled up with water.

This delayed the fixing of the pipeline, with the municipality saying on Thursday that the team was only able to work in daylight.

"The repair of the pipe was delayed due to an accident on the 29 July 2019 which unfortunately resulted in a loss of life.

"As a result, the site was closed for investigation by the department of labour.

"A restrictive method statement was designed to minimize risk on site. The conditions among others prevented night work. Only workers were allowed before sunset," Mniki said.

Strelitzia High School principal Omar Neilson said the school was not affected because it had a reservoir on the property.

"The reservoir takes about 50,000ltr of water so I didn't even notice but if we didn't have water we would've sent the children home," Neilson said.

Victory Christian School principal Faith September said the school was not affected but the water coming out of the taps was brown.

"The pressure has been very low but we buy water and don't allow the children to drink from the taps," September said.

via - HERALDLIVE