Good hygiene, especially the washing of hands, is said to be an effective way to prevent COVID-19 infection.
But adhering to the message from President Cyril Ramaphosa when he addressed in his national address, has been a struggle for Emalahleni Local Municipality.
President Ramaphosa remanded South Africans to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds and keep social distance to ward off the virus.
But it has been a hard practice to wash hands when the taps remain empty.
The whole of eMalahleni has experienced dry taps during the lockdown period.
Taking a look at just seven days paints a clear picture of the poor infrastructure in the city.
On April 7 Clewer residents had no water because of a pipe break.
The next day emergency repair works on the water supply system also started.
“The bulk of the water supply in the municipality is obtained from the Witbank dam and pumped to the water treatment plant for purification and distribution to consumers. The water supply is facilitated using pumping and piping equipment which is aged and dilapidated. Further due to metal content they are vulnerable to vandalism and theft,” municipal spokesperson Mr Lebo Mofokeng said.
He said the municipality has reported high water distribution losses and consistent water supply shortages or interruptions. The main cause was water pipe breakages and bulk water pipeline leakages. Two major water leaks and failed valves have developed on the water bulk supply lines from the dam to the water treatment plant which required urgent attention.
“Contingency plans are in place to ensure the continued supply of water to the water treatment plant and modular package plant from the raw water quarry. Further, the distribution reservoirs are at a reasonable level to maintain water supply during the outage. The municipality is committed to observing and adhering to guidelines of the containment of COVID-19 in the sustainable supply of water. However we urge the communities to continue using water sparingly and safely at all times,” he said as work started.
On April 9 Duvha Park, Tasbet Park Ext 2 and Del Judor Ext 1’s water was interrupted due to pipe breaks and the water supply to Empumelelweni extensions was isolated due to several leaks.
Then Die Heuwel extensions, Highveld Park extensions, a portion of Blancheville, Jackaroo Park, Clearwater Estates and Riverview had a turn. They had no water because of a leak that was attended to.
The water supply to Witbank Ext 10 and Model Park was also affected due to a pipe break.
And low reservoir levels were the reason KwaGuqa extensions had no water.
“Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, repeatedly throughout the day, is critical. But what if you don’t have enough clean water?” is the question residents want answers on.
