MOKOPANE – Households in town were left without water since Tuesday at 06:00 and even though the message conveyed was that the water supply would return on Wednesday, some taps were still empty at the time of going to print.
Mogalakwena Municipality notified residents a fortnight ago about the cut in water supply, stating the interruption was necessitated by much needed maintenance by Lepelle Northern Water at the Doorndraai Water Treatment Works.
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When the water supply had not been restored by Wednesday morning, residents started asking questions.
An SMS was sent out by Korny Dekker, DA ward councillor that read: “Note that there is a possibility that there will only be supply of water by late Friday. Will advise where we can arrange water tankers”.
This message was met with outrage from locals, as residents took to social media to show their dismay.
Following the SMS by Dekker, Marcelle Maritz, Limpopo Leader of the Freedom Front Plus, sent a voicenote to residents in which she stated the message was based on a rumour and that water supply would return by no later than 20:00 on Wednesday evening.
Bosveld spoke to Dekker about the matter
“As a DA councillor, it would be irresponsible of me to send out what people term as ‘rumours’. I did not say there would definitely be no water until Friday, I said there was a possibility.”
Dekker said he had spoken to a representative of Lepelle Northern Water who was on site, who confirmed that the maintenance team was still conducting repairs and that this had taken longer than expected.
“He added Lepelle Northern Water was pumping water from boreholes but that it could take some time for the reservoir to fill up. We cannot say when the water will return. I understand the residents’ frustration and suggest they need to prepare for the unforeseen,” Dekker added.
In October, residents were also left with empty taps for an extended period, after several pipe bursts in town. One affected resident voiced her dissatisfaction on a community WhatsApp group: “If the water pipes burst due to poor maintenance, everyone is angry. When maintenance is done, the people are angry. Maybe the municipality stopped to service the water because no matter what they, do we are angry”.
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Another resident also took to social media, saying: “I think many of us only prepared for water until 06:00 this morning. When our men will come from work they want to take a bath but again today we don’t have water. (sic)”
In the current situation, residents who have boreholes have lent a hand to their neighbours who don’t have access to water.
Bosveld was unable to reach the Mogalakwena Municipality for comment by Wednesday afternoon.
On the Facebook page of the municipal spokesperson, Malesela Selokela, however, a message stated that the water supply was expected to be restored by late Wednesday evening.
Visit out website, www.reviewonline.co.za for an update on the water situation.
redakteur.bosvelder@nmgroup.co.za
