uThukela District Municipality is among the water service authorities that have been declared as disaster areas in terms of the Disaster Management Act due to lack of rainfall during the past summer.
The impact of the drought conditions continues to increase at lndaka Local Municipality, as Oliphantskop Dam dries out daily. In the past seven days, the bottom of the dam (basin) has been extremely exposed.
The situation has prompted the leadership of uThukela District to conduct briefing meetings with the councillors, traditional leaders, community development workers and community representatives to discuss the drought crisis in the area, which affects over 20,000 people.
The pumps have been switched off to prevent pumping out mud that might damage them. To further compound the situation attributed to the drought, the fish in the dam are now dying and causing huge problems, as their rotting bodies contaminate the remaining water. This might cause even more complications if rain is not received, and subsequently the source will have to be cleaned to clear any poison as a result of dead fish prior to supplying water from this source to communities.
“What we need right now is rain to replenish our rivers and dams. We must all play our part to conserve water during this trying time,” said uThukela District Mayor Dudu Mazibuko.
Water restrictions will be implemented immediately across the district to ensure that everyone has water, even if the taps have run dry in some areas, and that some degree of potable water supply is maintained.
Plans are in place to supply water through water tankers in the affected areas.
The Department of Water & Sanitation has added five more water tankers to assist with the distribution of water. Moreover, Jojo tanks will be made available in some areas to ensure that communities have access to drinkable water.
Tankers will be filling some distance away; Ezakheni and Wagendrift Dam in Estcourt.
Communities are requested / advised to use water sparingly during this time of drought.
Furthermore, the leadership of uThukela District Municipality met over the weekend with the communities of Indaka to talk about other ways of dealing with this crisis, going forward.
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