Beaufort West declares Day Zero today

BEAUFORT West Municipality says it will run out of emergency bottled water today, but local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC Anton Bredell, says there is no emergency.

Gift of the Givers said it had received an urgent plea for water because the municipality believed it would run out of water today.

The municipality said because of the low reservoir levels in the town over the past months, it was forced to distribute emergency water donated by Gift of the Givers for Day Zero and emergency cases.

The storage room at the Karoo Recreational Hall is allegedly empty after a peak festive season. The town had 40 boreholes, but is now operating on 27. It is 16% dependent on the reclamation plant. The municipality said it was doing its best to encourage citizens to save water through ongoing awareness of the drought situation.

However, Bredell said the provincial department of local government was not aware of an emergency requiring immediate bottled water in Beaufort West and Laingsburg. “Information from our specialists on the ground is that the towns have a sufficient supply of piped water.

“The reclamation plant is working in Beaufort West and there is water in the reservoirs in both towns. Accordingly, there is no emergency at present as far as we are concerned.”

Bredell did emphasise this did not mean there were no water challenges in these towns.

“The drought remains ongoing and long-term by nature. It also requires an ongoing concerted effort by all stakeholders to ensure communities do not run out of drinking water. We appreciate the assistance of all partners and stakeholders and continue to urge continued co-operation and consultation. As a province it is our role to co-ordinate relief efforts, and we continue to do so.

“If towns have their own arrangements with NGOs and other partners, that is up to them, but we continue to request that we be informed timeously to ensure better co-ordination of the ongoing relief efforts.”