Families left struggling with no water for months on end

Taps dry since May and single truck providing supply insufficient, they say

Many Unathi Mkefa Ward 4 residents who have not had water coming out of their taps since May this year are faced with a daily struggle of not having sufficient drinking water and trying to cook, bath, wash clothes and flush toilets with little to no water.

The only time they had water coming out of their taps was for one week in October.

Ward 4 resident, Feziwe Mtsi, said despite the residents’ efforts to find out the cause of the problem, Chris Hani District Municipality had not provided them with any information.

Mtsi said the area’s ward councillor had not reported the problem or provided the community with any feedback.

“We have not had water for months since May in parts of Unathi Mkefa.

“The water used to come out a little but in May it stopped completely.

“The worst part is there is no-one coming to explain to us what the issue is. The top area of Bhekela has no water, it is dry,” she said.

“The water started coming out again in October for a week and stopped.”

She said the community had to rely on water trucks provided by the district municipality, however, it was not enough to supply the affected residents. She said residents in ward 4 and 6 had to rely on water from a single truck. When the water truck arrived, she said residents queued for hours with many containers, as they feared not having enough water. As such, the water was finished quickly.

She was also concerned about residents who had to walk long distances to collect water.

“Others live at Vezinyawo and Samenteni, closer to the mountains, and have to walk long distances just to fill a bucket of water,” she said.

She said her household had to divide the water for cooking, drinking and a jug for bathing.

“We have big families. “Some people are bedridden and wear diapers. Our laundry is piled up because there is not enough water to wash clothing.

“We don’t want tank water we need regular water to flush our toilets,” Mtsi said. Chris Hani Spokesperson Bulelwa

Ganyaza said the refurbishmentof Komani Water Treatment Works will assist in improving the water issues in thearea and refurbishments are underway.“Construction of a 1.57km reticulation line to boost watersupply to Unathi Mkhefa is also underway. There will be improvement after thecompletion of Komani WTW refurbishment and construction of the reticulationline.”Ganyaza said the high-lying areas were affected.She added that CHDM continuously issues out publicnotifications on different platforms on water-related issues includinginterruptions across the district as well as for Unati Nkemfa. “Public notifications will be reaming to ensure thatthe community is informed of any developments.” Ganyaza said the water supply shortage will be addressedthrough the refurbishment of Komani WTW and the construction of the boosterreticulation line.