LIMPOPO – While maintenance will be performed for Mokopane this weekend, one suburb has yet again been challenged by water pressure problems since Monday.
The DA-led coalition of the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality says they are deeply concerned about rising water usage amid the shortage of rain and the current heat wave.
“We can confirm the Donkerpoort Dam which supplies Modimolle and Phagameng is currently at less than 23% capacity.
“The Welgevonden (Frikkie Geyser) dam, which supplies residents of Mookgophong, is only at 40% capacity while the current usage is 2,5 megalitres a day,” reads a press release by the municipality.
Welgevonden Dam supplies 50% of the town’s water, while the other 50% is sourced from 19 boreholes in the Nyl.
Bosveld spoke to Marlene van Staden, Mayor of the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality, who confirmed there’s less than a month’s supply left for Mookgophong with water shedding already in place.
Van Staden said official water restrictions for both Mookgophong and Modimolle will be discussed at a council meeting set for Wednesday.
“We appeal to residents to only water gardens and wash cars using potable water.”
Hundreds of liters of water are lost thanks to leaking toilets, Van Staden told Bosveld. She asked the community to report any water wastage as soon as possible.
Water tankers will be dispatched to areas which don’t have access to water.
Van Staden told Bosveld the water in the tankers is mainly sourced from farmers who have boreholes.
“I hope Mokopane also gets water restrictions,” DA councillor, Korny Dekker, told Bosveld, “as we struggle to get reservoirs filled to acceptable levels simply because usage is so high.”
Dekker explained if Mokopane’s residents don’t become water-wise, the town will also reach the point of a day zero countdown.
He added he believes if residents keep up their current water usage, Mokopane could have a water level of as low as 25% within the coming three months. He said residents should be thankful they don’t have to queue for water like the residents of the Western Cape and must see this as a warning to save water before it’s too late.
This week water pressure in the taps of Kameeldoring Park, Mokopane varied.
Dekker wrote on a social media group on Tuesday morning that a community meeting with Lepelle Northern Water and Mogalakwena Municipality was set to take place this Wednesday.
“The aim is to give residents first-hand information about the town’s water situation,” wrote Dekker.
He told Bosveld that Kameeldoring Park is the nearest to the reservoir and therefore encounters the water problems first.
Bosveld reported in its previous issue that Mokopane will see an interruption of water supply to central town and extensions 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 as well as extensions 11 to 20, from Saturday 06:00 right through to Monday.
Lepelle Northern Water will perform much-needed maintenance at the Doorndraai canal which transports water to the municipality and water treatment works. “No guarantee can be given the water will remain disconnected for the whole period and residents are therefore informed to consider all connections as water active,” Marcus Mthombeni, Acting Municipal Manager, told Bosveld last week.
Mthombeni advised residents to keep water taps closed to avoid disputes on bills.
redakteur.bosvelder@nmgroup.co.za
