Wasbank water woes reach Pretoria’s ears
The long-standing water issue in the village has been reported to the Department of Water and Sanitation in Pretoria.
A call has been made to the national Department of Water & Sanitation to intervene in the ongoing water crisis in Wasbank, which has seen the village going weeks on end without water.
Last year, residents embarked on protest action and blocked the Glencoe/Ladysmith road in a bid to bring attention to their plight.
While the situation seemed to ease a bit, a similar crisis was repeated earlier this year, which saw several humanitarian organisations step in and donate water by sending water tanks.
However, the water crisis is now deepening, with resident Vera Janse van Rensburg saying, “Can we get some sort of response from the authorities on how long we are still going to be without water, so that we can plan accordingly in December?
“Kids are on holiday and then to top it all, we have a heat wave just like the rest of you.”
Another resident told the Courier that ‘water leaks were reported months ago and have been reported again and again – some get fixed, while others are overlooked and some of these leaks are major, leaving people without water for months on end’.
“The pipes need to be replaced, as most are patched in one place, only to leak further down the line and water for household use just flows away down the gutter and into the streets.
“This leads to our streets being full of potholes.
“We are a poor community of mainly pensioners who cannot afford to drill boreholes and then the water has to be tested to see if it is fit for human consumption; or buy JoJo tanks, because here you need more than one because you never know how long it will be before you have water again; or buy bottled water because, most times, the water is a brown colour and is not fit for human consumption.
“Please, we ask as a community that someone stand up and fight for us, as we don’t have anyone else to do it.”
Umzinyathi District Municipality has been asked to comment, but has not as yet.
This will be published when a response is received.
The Courier also contacted the Department of Water & Sanitation in Pretoria to comment on the Wasbank water crisis.
A spokesperson acknowledged receipt of the questions posed, saying that ‘on behalf of the director-general, Dr Sean Phillips, we acknowledge receipt of your correspondence, which will receive the necessary attention by the Department of Water & Sanitation’.
Unofficial sources told the Courier that water flow to Wasbank via Glencoe has been compromised, as the pipeline to the area also serves the agricultural sector.
“A valve is needed to ensure that there is a continuous flow to Wasbank because when the pressure drops due to load-shedding at the pump station, the flow to the agricultural area continues because of gravity feed, leaving Wasbank dry,” the source claimed.
For now, Wasbank residents are hoping that the situation will be rectified before the Christmas long weekend.
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