Wretched water problems in Standerton
“The water crisis is a clear indication of bad management in the water and sanitation department,” she said on March 6.
Enough is enough for many a resident in Standerton with regard to service delivery. Taking into consideration that load-shedding unabatedly influences water supply, mid-town, Meyerville and Sakhile locals carry the brunt of things going haywire.
Streets such as Landau and Nelson Mandela in Meyerville, Kieser, Leyds, Paarl, Vry, Coligny, Charl Cilliers and some households in Stander in mid-town have been with intermittent or no supply.
The communications department of the Lekwa Municipality sent out a notice on March 5 about a water supply interruption.
According to Lekwa, a team was still busy on site with the installation of Round pumping units. The windings of the Round pumping units number 1 and 3 burnt due to low electricity supply that affected the water treatment plant.
Water supply to wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 15 was affected. There was low electricity supply at the water treatment plant as well.
Wilma Venter, Freedom Front Plus councillor for Ward 10, has been fielding the messages from irate locals on a WhatsApp-group.
“The water crisis is a clear indication of bad management in the water and sanitation department,” she said on March 6.
Standerton Water Treatment Plant was running on four pumps on March 6, with the fifth still not being installed, lying on the ground. The store-dam level was at 20%, way below running the pumps. The plant was stopped to pick up the level and the time-frame given as between 01:00 to 03:00.
Only one pump was operational to pump the chlorine. Ina Steyn, a resident, left a voice note on February 8, saying the household is going in for the fourth week without water.
She however, mentioned that water began trickling in on Monday evening. Expenditure-wise, R1 400 is the weekly amount to buy water.
“We also pay our water, lights, rates and taxes on the municipal account,” Steyn concluded.
“Councillors are keeping us informed on what’s happening, but don’t always get feedback. That is another drawback.”
Meyerville residents, especially in Leask and Hawthorne Streets, struggle without water. Sakhile residents are not going scot-free as well.
A domestic worker said on March 7 that Mahala Park had no water for quite a number of days. Alberto Franco, DA-councillor paid a visit to the water treatment plant on March 8.
“The plant is struggling with abstraction (taking water from the Vaal River) due to problems with the pumps,” Franco said.
“Only two of the pumps are functional. Only 50% of the Kieser system are functional.”
Load-shedding schedules also change at the drop of a hat. To feed units for a pre-paid meter is no laughing matter either with soaring prices.
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The newspaper bought R600 worth of units on March 7 and could load 164.9 kWh on a commercial tariff scheme.
That was not all residents had to contend with. If you wanted to drink a glass of water, being kept awake by the recent music at the Standerton Show Grounds, to try to fall asleep, you were in for surprise.
One senior citizen at Kosmos Retirement Village said on March 4 that the glass, at the windows in her unit, was shuddering.
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, suggested that a notice be sent out to the community whenever gatherings at the show grounds are approved.
The Standerton Advertiser sent a WhatsApp-message to Lubabalo Majenge, communications manager of Lekwa, on March 7.
Comment was requested on the water situation that was, in the words of more than one local, reaching crisis proportions.
The municipality and the Freedom Front Plus attempted on March 8 to solve the water problem. According to information, the valves were checked.
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