Kirkwood water canal collapse

[caption id="attachment_204663" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation are on the scene where a Kirkwood water canal collapsed. Photo: Riaan Marais.[/caption]

A Kirkwood water canal that feeds the Nooitgedacht water treatment works collapsed yesterday afternoon (17/05/17).

Officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation are on the scene to assess the damage. The canal was destroyed in a landslide yesterday afternoon.

The canal runs through the farm of Hannes Joubert, who was contacted by his workers at 4pm about the collapse of the canal.

"At this stage we are not sure what the full extent of the damage is but luckily no lives were lost and no one was injured," Joubert said.

An official from the department, who declined to be named, said: “We need to figure out how we are going to relay the water and restore the supply. This won't be a quick fix."

The Nooitgedacht works, in Addo, treats water from the Sundays River system. The treated water is pumped to the Grassridge Reservoir, from where it flows to the Coega Kop, Colchester, Motherwell, Uitenhage, Despatch, Chatty, Bethelsdorp and Bloemendal reservoirs.