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The persistent water crisis continues to have an adverse impact on the lives of communities in the Dr Beyers Naude municipal area.
Several residential areas in Graaff-Reinet, including Kroonvale, Santaville, Asherville and
Geluksdal, have been without water for weeks on end.
According to residents from Kroonvale and Asherville, they haven’t had water during the day since July and, whilst the water normally returns in the late afternoon, some households remain without water throughout the night.
Ordinary household tasks like washing, cooking and cleaning have become practically impossible.
Residents have taken to social media and other platforms to vent their frustrations around the interrupted water supply and raise some of the challenges that they are experiencing.
Whilst some trucks deliver water to areas experiencing water shortages, residents claim that the water from these trucks is not fit for human consumption. They also mention that the truck drivers are often rude and impatient and that some of the truck drivers demand payment for filling up water tanks.
These water tanks were supplied by the municipality for communal use and were strategically placed on identified properties but some of the owners of these properties also demand payment from the community for use of the water.
Residents of Vrygronde has raised similar issues. During a regional women’s caucus that was facilitated by the Support Centre for Land Change (SCLC) in Willowmore on 14 September, one of the participants from Vrygronde stated that the truck drivers demand payment in cash or in kind for filling up the communal water tanks and, in turn, the owners of the properties demand payment from the community.
She added that payment in kind constitutes a litre of wine. They are particularly frustrated about these payment demands since the majority of Vrygronde residents do not have the financial means to pay for water. The allegation that pigs receive water from the same water trucks at the expense of the municipality adds to the frustration.
On Saturday the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality posted a water alert on social media writing that the water demand is exceeding supply due to high water consumption and that residents should use water resources sparingly. The post included some useful water-saving tips. Unfortunately, the DBNLM still hasn’t responded to the questions raised by Graaff-Reinet ratepayers around the trucks that have been lining up to extract water from the fire hydrants in town.
These trucks were first extracting from the hydrant on the corner of Park- and Stockenstroom Streets but then moved to the hydrant on the corner of Park , Rothman and Bourke Streets.
The tankers are at least 5 000 litres and several trips are made every day. This has been ongoing for weeks and ratepayers are concerned that the tankers are draining the reservoir at Panorama Hill.
According to a concerned resident, the reservoir is, in fact, empty for most of the day and the water level only increases to being half-filled in the late afternoon.
Concern was also raised around the possibility that the extraction from the hydrants may be draining the hydrant storage tank.
Considering the recent spate of fires in town, this is particularly alarming.
When questioned on the matter, DBNLM Director of Infrastructure Services, Bennie Arends, stated that, “The mayor and municipal manager are the only persons who are authorised to speak on behalf of the municipality.”
Both the mayor and the municipal manager were copied in the correspondence but to date neither reverted back to the ratepayers.
The DBNLM also failed to respond to Graaff-Reinet Advertiser’s request for comment in this regard.
In the meantime, these trucks continue to extract thousands of litres of water per day, putting immense strain on the reservoir, instead of refilling at the spring at Mackie’s Put, which is more suited to tanker refilling.