Tzaneen water disappears in pipelines weekly
Millions of litres of water in Tzaneen are weekly unaccounted for according to a press statement released by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Residents have been struggling with daily water shortages for the last two years spurring the DA to write a letter to the municipal manager of the Greater Tzaneen Municipality (GTM), Donald Mhangwana earlier this week. “We wrote the letter to the municipal manager to urgently provide clarity around the water losses seen at the Georges Valley water treatment plant following complaints from residents that their taps run dry around 14:00, daily,” says Chrisma Bredenkamp, proportional councillor at the GTM.
“The DA conducted an oversight at the treatment plant that operates from 04:00 to 21:00. “For three weeks, three times a day, the DA took readings at the plant and found that there is a trend. “From the readings we ascertained that the plant receives on average 108 litres per second, however at around 13:00 this drops to between 80 to 82 litres per second and returns to 108 litres per second at about 20:00,” states Bredenkamp.
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Bredenkamp says that millions of litres of water are unaccounted by the drop in the water influx to the plant and that this is the cause of the water shortages experienced by residents in Ward 14. “When we discussed the matter with officials, it became apparent that they are aware of the ongoing situation. Tzaneen has been plagued by water restrictions due to the expansion of the town, lack of maintenance, aWaged infrastructure and now water losses exacerbate the already dire situation.
“The DA is appalled by the lack of motivation and unwillingness by the GTM officials to investigate and rectify the reasons behind the water losses as it has a profound impact on the community,” says Bredenkamp. “We will not tolerate such negligence and will continue to conduct oversight to the plant and put pressure on officials until the cause of the water losses has been identified, rectified and action taken against those responsible,” she concludes.
The Herald reached out to the GTM for comment on the matter on Tuesday morning and will publish the GTM’s response once received.
