No water woes at Cosmo City

Cosmo City now has its own water reservoir to supply the needs of the burgeoning population. It will also "contribute to the Growth and Development Strategy".
WORK has finished on a R35,5-million reservoir that will supply water to Cosmo City, the mixed income settlement built on Joburg’s far northern border.

MMc Roslynn Greeff and Joburg Water general manager for capital investment officially opne the resevoirJoburg Water's Ntshavheni Mukwevho and MMC Ros Greeff officially open the resevoirIt is 52 metres in diameter and 10 metres high, and was built because there was a limited water storage capacity in the Honeydew, Boschkop and Randpark Ridge Reservoir sub-districts.

Speaking at the unveiling of the reservoir in Cosmo City on Friday, 14 October, the portfolio head of infrastructure services and environment, Roslynn Greeff, said it would ensure adequate provision of water and adequate capacity to Cosmo City developments.

“This project will have long-term impacts for Johannesburg’s economic development and it will contribute a great deal to our Growth and Development Strategy objectives,” said Greeff.

Work began on Cosmo City in March 2005, and it had reached a stage where the water demand justified the construction of a dedicated reservoir. Construction of the facility created 43 local employment opportunities with on-the-job training provided for local labour.

The ward councillor for the area, Noni Raphata, said she was relieved that construction of the new reservoir was over.

“Previously we used to have cut-offs every weekend and often got phone calls from residents complaining about this disruption,” said Raphata. “Having a new reservoir will help improve our lives.”

The new Cosmo City facility, which was finished on 26 May, is one of 88 water reservoirs belonging to Joburg Water. The utility also owns and operates 33 water towers, six wastewater treatment facilities and two laboratories.

Diepsloot
During the unveiling of the reservoir, Greeff also spoke about the sewer infrastructure upgrades that were recently completed in Diepsloot.

The resevoir will serveThe resevoir will serve the expanding suburb of Cosmo City“This project was initiated to reduce the number of blockages in the sewer and upgrade the current network, as well as provide adequate sanitation facilities to the community,” she said.

About R15,6-million was invested in improving the sewer lines. Work on site began on 31 August 2009 and ended on 1 June this year.

Diepsloot was established as a transit camp for families from informal settlements in Alexandra. The area has not been formalised into a township as yet, but there has been unprecedented settlement in the region.

Structures were built by these settlers on existing services. Some of them were damaged while others were often blocked because debris and refuse was thrown into the sewerage system. During the upgrade, the existing toilets were revamped and 300 new toilets were constructed.

Joburg Water investment manager, Mthokozisi Ncube, said work was affected by several social issues that hampered progress.

“Approximately 300 shacks were located on the pipeline that had to be upgraded. Residents had to be relocated to allow the contractor to continue with the works. The relocation process took three months due to resistance from residents.”

The toilets were also vandalised before they could be handed over. “This affected the contractor’s progress and cash flow as [he] had to replace or fix the damages at his own cost before handover,” said Ncube.