District ditches water tankers
UMKHANYAKUDE District Municipality will procure no more water tankers to mitigate the dire shortage of water, but rather focus on maintaining existing water schemes.
This was announced by
District Mayor Siphile Mdaka on Tuesday at the Mahlakwe area of uMhlabuyalingana where he officially handed over one of 18 boreholes.
He said the district would intervene in areas without water supply, and focus on capital projects to augment its existing measures of water provision.
All 18 boreholes are already providing the communities with water, Tuesday's formal handover merely marked the occasion.
‘Boreholes will help us do away with water tankers because they do not assist communities; often they do not arrive at the scheduled time of day,’ Mdaka said.
‘The borehole is better because water is right here in the community and there will no longer be a need to wait for water to be transported from one area to another.’
He added that water tankers, which have been used for some time, are costly to maintain.
While the long-term plan is a constant supply of water, he said the district would continue to make use of the existing fleet to supply some areas with water.
When queried about the cost of the boreholes, Mdaka referred the ZO to the acting municipal manager (MM) at uMkhanyakude,
Dr Siya Ntuli, who said these figures were not available to hand.
All water pumped from the newly-launched borehole has been tested and found to be potable.
The borehole’s pump is powered by a generator, but plans are in place to switch to electricity as a better option.
Solar panel theft is reportedly a concern, which is why such renewable energy isn't being used.
Mdaka assured the community that the boreholes would be properly maintained, and reported issues would be resolved in no more than 72 hours.
Community member Nelly Mlambo expressed her elation that water would now be available to locals and requested that standpipes be extended to provide for other residents in the area.