Water utility Rand Water on Tuesday said that its extensive, proactive infrastructure maintenance project has been successfully completed.

The maintenance project was conducted from June 22 to July 30, and focused on upgrading the organisation’s water supply systems to ensure reliability and efficiency of the infrastructure.

Following the completion of the maintenance project, Rand Water’s systems are still in the process of achieving full recovery and the organisation has informed its municipal customers.

The maintenance programme had impacted two water treatment plants, namely the Zuikerbosch and Vereeniging Water Purification Plants, and four of its booster pumping stations, namely Eikenhof, Zwartkopjes, Mapleton and Palmiet.

“The maintenance of the water infrastructure was critical and necessary to improve the integrity and long-term preservation of the infrastructure. It is also necessary to ensure sustainable and uninterrupted potable bulk water supply for the current and future generations,” Rand Water said in a statement.

The month-long maintenance work comprised increasing and maintaining plant availability and reliability, and improving water supply efficiency. It also included the replacement of plant equipment, bulk water meters and replacement of various infrastructure.

At the Eikenhof system, Rand Water connected the existing F16 pipeline to the new F5 pipeline and the new meters; cleaned the sedimentation tank at the Vereeniging water treatment plant; interconnected the Waterval 1 and 2 reservoirs and interconnected engine rooms at Eikenhof pumping station

Meanwhile, across the Mapleton system, the utility upgraded the transformer supplying Trichardt pumping station; tied-in the new N6 pipeline to the existing N6 pipeline; and installed new infrastructure at Mapleton pumping station, while at the Zwartkopjes pumping station, a defective valve was replaced.

Further, Rand Water, on the Palmiet system, tied-in the J7 pipeline into the G17 and J6 pipelines; moved load to a new 400 V electrical board at Palmiet pumping station and replaced defective valves at the Zuikerbosch plant.

“Prior to the start of the maintenance project, Rand Water has cooperated with its municipal customers to ensure minimal bulk water supply disruptions by jointly increasing the storage capacity.”

The organisation formally notified its customers by issuing a 21-day notification to allow them to execute appropriate contingency plans and to manage the storage capacity accordingly.

During the maintenance period, Rand Water requested municipalities to inform their customers about the extent and impact of water supply interruptions in their respective areas.