One of Johannesburg Water's hydro jetting vacuum tanker's at work

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Joburg Water tends to blocked sewerage pipes Gallo Manor's sewerage network is being attended to by Johannesburg Water, which has found that tree roots are causing blockages in the area's sewerage pipes. May 19, 2006 By Emmanuel Mulaudzi JOBURG Water's maintenance team is cleaning up the sewer network, following blockages, in the Gallo Manor, Sandton area. The blockages were reported by members of the community to Joburg Water's depot in the area recently and the maintenance team was despatched to assess the damage. It found that roots in the sewer network were hampering the smooth running of the stream. Baldwin Matsimela, the acting marketing and communications manager at the City's water and sewerage utility, explains, "The causes of these sewer blockages have been mainly tree roots, resulting in the sewer overflowing." Gallo Manor has been identified as a hotspot regarding sewer blockages and once the repairs have been completed the area will be closely monitored. Matsimela says Johannesburg Water has bought three hydro jetting vacuum tankers that will be used to clean sewers. These tankers are able to propel water into the sewer pipes while vacuuming them, so ensuring that all the debris, roots, silt and other causes of sewer blockages are removed. It also means that they are not able to cause further blockages downstream in the network. Matsimela says the hydro jetting vacuum, the latest technology, is being used to solve the problems in Gallo Manor. According to Johannesburg Water, the company manages 9 500 kilometres of sewer pipes in Johannesburg and experiences about 3 500 blockages a month. The hydro jetting vacuum tankers will go a long way towards enhancing the company's existing sewer maintenance programme and will also enhance Johannesburg Water's commitment to environmental protection. "We are urging Gallo Manor residents and affected areas to bear with us while our [maintenance] team is busy attending to the blockage," Matsimela adds. Residents who want to report sewer-related problems should call Johannesburg Water's 24-hour call centre on 011 688 1500. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za