Inside the water crisis currently gripping eMdloti
Find out what it is like being forced to endure severe water restrictions while surrounded by a massive body of water.
AS the province continues to battle through one of the country’s most severe water crises, eMdloti is one the local towns hardest his by water restrictions. Residents and holidaymakers alike have been suffering through months of daily restrictions from 8am to 4pm.
The irony of it all, said local resident, Sonja Tedder, as she shared her daily woes with the Northglen News last week, is that while their tiny town is often devoid of water they are surrounded by this massive ocean.
The frustration
“Weekends are the worst. While you are at work, the water restrictions do not affect you as much,” she said.
However, some days the water isn’t switched on on time or at other times, residents have been left frustrated when the water was switched off ahead of schedule.
According to Tedder, there have also been days where the water, after being switched back on, came out brown and undrinkable.
“Once I was left without water for seven days. It was the hardest week,” said the despondent resident.
What’s more, she said, was that as the water pressure is sometimes reduced by 50 per cent during restrictions. Homes at the bottom of eMdloti (South Beach) have access to water, while the top end of the town is left without.
With Tedder also living at the top of her complex, her lower neighbours often have water before she does. Twice now, her geyser had blown after the pressure in the pipes was restored.
Coping with the restrictions
To cope with the restrictions, Tedder not only ensures that she keeps five five-litre water bottles filled, she also catches rainwater in buckets and buys bottled water for drinking. To flush a toilet it takes five litres of water, and washing your face can consume up to two and a half litres, she explained.
“For the most part, it is unpleasant. People truly take water for granted. You cannot appreciate the importance of water until it is no longer readily available,” she said.
“Something as simple as washing your hands before and inbetween cooking becomes a hassle, and then there are cold showers. I have never had so many cold showers,” she added.
Tedder said she has often witnessed fellow eMdlotians bathing in pools or using the showers at the beach in pure desperation. She has even opted to use the shower at her complex’s swimming pool to wash her hair.
The most frustrating part, she said, was seeing people, especially from other communities, waste this scarce resource.
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