Insikazi area faces water shortage due to load-shedding

Community members in the Nsikazi area are once again without water.

Last week (April 13) the City of Mbombela (CoM) and Silulumanzi released a statement in which they both said that load-shedding is negatively affecting water supply. Silulumanzi said that all reservoirs are critically low and likely to run empty if the electricity supply is not resolved soon. The community recently had to go without water for weeks due to heavy rains.

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The areas affected include KaNyamazane, KaBokweni, Tekwane, White River, Pienaar, Rocky Drift and Hazyview surroundings. These areas receive water from the Nsikazi Regional Bulk Treatment Water Works, which is in KaNyamazane.

On Tuesday April 18, the spokesperson for Silulumanzi, Richmond Jele, said the situation remains the same, and it might get worse as long as there is load-shedding on stages 5 and 6.

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“Every time the community experiences stage 6 load-shedding, the water supplier loses more than 12 hours,” Jele said.

“We need to switch off certain machines 30 minutes before the power goes off and switch them back on 30 minutes after the power comes back on. This is to protect them from getting damaged, because they are sensitive. Even if we have water in KaNyamazane, but we do not have electricity, we cannot supply water to other areas until power is supplied. Every pump station needs electric power.”

CoM said in the event of power outages for the duration of four hours or more, pockets of areas within the city get extremely affected, and sometimes have low pressure.

“The situation will remain critical for as long as the load-shedding is at these levels. We still appeal to consumers to continue using the little water available sparingly,” said Joseph Ngala, the CoM’s spokesperson.