The water in Balfour, Greylingstad and surrounding areas has been a serious concern for the past six months.
According to residents, they have lodged numerous complaints about the stench coming from the water when they open their taps.
“The water smells like sewerage. You feel dirtier after you had a bath because the water stinks and has a muddy colour,” Susara Deysel, a resident, said.
Deysel said she has had eight operations for colon infections and believes the lack of clean water for household use has impacted her health and recovery.
According to her, many of the residents installed water filters to try and get water that is safe for consumption; however, due to the state of the water, filters have to be replaced monthly and depending on water usage, more than once a month.
“The old filters are black and greasy. That is the dangerous filth we have to try and filter out from the water in our taps,” she said.
The Dipaleseng Local Municipality said they are aware of the state of the water and started adding chemicals to the water reservoir to make the water safe for use; however, Balfour residents were left without water for an entire weekend on April 16 due to the municipality that allegedly did not have enough chemicals to add to the water and water flow was stopped.
To help the community, the AGS Church Balfour has offered its borehole water free to residents.
“We understand the frustrations of not having clean water in a household. To help the community, our church has been offering its borehole water to the community for several years. Anyone is welcome to fetch water from the tap in front of the church building on the corner of Dyer and Jessie streets,” Cassie Cilliers, pastor at the church, said.
Heraut requested an official media response regarding the serious water concerns from Dipaleseng Municipality and received the following statement from Johnny Mokgatsi, the acting municipal manager:
“The municipality is experiencing water supply disruptions that affect communities throughout the whole jurisdiction.
This is a direct result of the following reasons:
• Aged and dilapidated infrastructure that has continued to deteriorate over the years
• Old water supply system – asbestos pipes that are constantly bursting
• Continuous load-shedding and reduction that is implemented by Eskom.
“The municipality has a historic challenge of an old water supply system that was designed for a relatively small community with limited supply capacity. Over the years, the municipality has experienced population growth as well as expansions in development, which also result in increased water supply-demand.
“This undesirable situation requires a complete overhaul of the entire water supply system, which propels the municipality to embark on numerous projects that will collectively address this problem.
The municipality aims to correct this serious situation and eliminate all water supply challenges by the end of 2023 through the implementation of the following infrastructure projects:
• Upgrading of water supply pumps where challenges are experienced
• Upgrading of the capacity of Fortuna Water Works from 6.5 megalitres per day to 19.5 megalitres per day.
• Upgrading of feeder water pipelines whereby the Balfour to Grootvlei pipeline has already been completed with Siyathemba/Balfour to Greylingstad while Nthoroane is still outstanding. This will address the current problematic asbestos pipes that are constantly bursting.
• Construction of new water storage/upgrading of reservoirs in Nthoroane, Balfour and Greylingstad. This will address capacity issues in all areas.
“Dipaleseng Local Municipality is a licensed water service provider and holds this obligation in high esteem. The quality of the water supplied by the municipality is regularly tested and monitored by Dipaleseng Local Municipality and Gert Sibande District Municipality at its laboratory.
“The Department of Water and Sanitation also conducts regular and random sampling to ensure its safety for consumption. The municipality commits to continue to maintain the current system to ensure water provision. Water tankers will also continue to be utilised on an ad hoc basis in the event of such disruptions.
“The community is requested to continue to be understanding and cooperative during this time or until such time that all these matters are comprehensively resolved by the municipality.”
