51 days without water… and counting

Residents of Anerley, Pumula, Palm Beach and Protea Park are frustrated over inefficient water supply from Ugu District Municipality.

Residents of Protea Park have been without water for over two months and said if it does come back, it’s only around 02:00 while everyone is asleep.

In Pumula and Anerley, residents voiced their concerns as the area is mostly populated by elderly people who do not have the resources to store water in tanks.

Chris Du Bois, a resident of Pumula said: “Ugu didn’t provide Pumula with a static tank, residents raised money to purchase their own tank. According to an Ugu tanker driver, they are battling to fill up their trucks. On Tuesday this week our static tank was only half full at 17:00. We have to constantly remind them that our tank is empty.

“There are many elderly people in our ward who do not have tanks to harvest rain water, they rely solely on communal tanks and when the tanks are empty, they cannot collect water. The residents are trying their very best to help those who do not have resources,” he added.

Du Bois said it has now become a safety issue. “Last year we had a fire in 9th Avenue which could have easily been put out with a hosepipe, unfortunately there was no water to do so. We must also remember our indigent people go without water for an uncountable number of days and they rely solely on Ugu. Also, there is a lack of maintenance. At a meeting held in June, the maintenance budget for Ugu stood at 4% of their total budget, who knows what they do with the rest?”

Tommy Koekemoer said what is heartsore is seeing people fight over water at community tanks. “These people are taxpayers and ratepayers. Some of the elderly travel long distances carrying empty containers to the tanks, only to find that the tanks are empty. It is sad.”

Koekemoer said a family of four needs at least 300 litres of water a day to survive and some cannot afford to buy that much water. “With schools now open, children have to attend without bathing. All we ask is for Ugu to communicate with residents, and to come up with solutions. This has been going on for too long,” he added.
Derrick Megson who lives in Sea Breeze, a retirement complex in Anerley said they have had not had water since May 27.

“We live in a retirement complex and there are at least three other retirement homes and a frail care centre affiliated to us. Do we need to go out and burn tyres to get some form of action from Ugu?”
Ugu District spokesperson France Zama said the municipality is aware of intermittent supply issues on the northern system.

“This is due to major breaks and leaks found on the system as well as major valve replacement programmes which involve extensive work to be carried out.

“However, it is not a true reflection that these areas have been without supply for 51 days (since Wednesday). The municipality has made provisions via water tankers to ensure static tanks are filled, as well as the back-up storage at frail care centres. This is done while liaising with the ward councillor. Our communities are also updated on challenges the municipality is confronted with. It is regrettable that some communities have had to experience these interruptions. Our teams are working around the clock to implement lasting solutions,” Zama concluded.

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