Potchefstroom residents had a particularly tough weekend as a water crisis that started Thursday afternoon, 4 April, left large parts of town dry.
Anné van Onselen, ward councillor in ward 3 and Santi Britz, ward councillor in ward 22 communicated that all areas that receive water from the Ventersdorp reservoir were affected.
These areas are; Kannonierspark, Suiddorp, Miederpark, Central, Ikageng, Promosa, Mohadin and the Industrial area. The Bult area, Oewersig, Heilige Akker and the Dam area were afected as their reservoir were being emptied due to the Ventersdorp reservoir not having enough water. As a result, these areas were left without water as well.
Dagbreek, Tuscany, De Land, Mooivallei park, Vanderhoff park, Bailliepark, Grimbeekpark and Vyfhoek were the only areas that escaped the crisis as these areas get water from the Vyfhoek reservoir.
J.B. Marks municipality sent out a communication on Saturday, 6 April to inform residents about the cause of the water crisis as well as the repairs that were made and the plans for further repairs.
“A total of nine leaks were identified along the 675mm steel rising main, exceeding the anticipated number. Our team from the department of technical services has successfully attended to five of the identified leaks by implementing appropriate repair measures. Water pumping to the reservoirs was executed late yesterday (Friday, 5 April) at around 12 midnight following the completion of the repair work. Due to the late execution, it is expected that the improvement in reservoir levels may be limited.”
The communication explained that additional clamps are needed to be able to fix all the leaks. The municipality requested that residents cooperate while the remaining leaks are being addressed.
“Our team are working tirelessly to resolve the situation, and we are committed to providing updates on our progress.”
Ward councillors worked tirelessly to supply water to the affected areas.
Van Onselen communicated that the North-West University (NWU) started experiencing problems late in the afternoon on Thursday.
On Sunday morning, 7 April, the NWU sent out a communication to their students and staff instructing them to go home if possible. Deputy Vice-chancellor Prof Daryl Balia noted that although the inflow of water fromthe municipality improved, it has not improved in a way that staff and students can be accommodated while occupational health requirements are met.
All contact classes were suspended for the coming week and all staff, excluding essential workers, were asked to work from home if possible. It was further stated that all scheduled graduation ceremonies as well as the Varsity Cup match will continue as scheduled as the necessary provisions were made.
Heinricha Hodgson, ward councillor in ward 5 communicated that the water crisis has been resolved.
For any enquiries or assistance with regards to the water crisis, contact the Technical Services Directorate at 018 299 5408.
