The town’s water problems started on 16 August when residents suddenly noticed foul-smelling, brown water coming from their taps. Some also complained that they did not have water at all.
After many complaints to the Merafong City Local Municipality, the municipality only acknowledged that there was a problem two days later.
“The cause has been identified on the main supply line to the Welverdiend reservoir, which was broken by the contractors working for the mine. This is receiving immediate attention,” a municipal spokes- person said.
By 20 August, however, residents in the higher part of Fochville, like 3rd Street, were still without water. In areas like 7th Street, there was water, but the pressure was very low. Later that day, the municipality said the problems were due to a “water supply system breakdown” on the main line supplying Welverdiend, the Elijah Barayi mega- housing complex and the Khutsong South extensions. A water shedding system would be implemented to supply areas that did not have water for 24 hours.
“Our biggest problem is that the municipality did not respond when we first started complaining about the problems on Monday. The MMC even accused people of lying,” says one of the residents, Mrs Letitia Janse van Vuuren.
Some areas still did not have water by the next day and, by the afternoon, it had come to light that the line that had been fixed was vandalised again, presumably by zama-zamas. As a result, the municipality promised to send water tanker trucks out to the town.
After the water trucks failed to turn up the next day, some residents started threatening non- payment or protests.
By 22 August, the problem had not improved and some residents started driving around to hand out water themselves.
By Wednesday, 23 August, some areas still experienced water issues due to another water pipe that had burst near the Elijah Barayi project on Tuesday.
