GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — Last week Wednesday, the Graaff-Reinet Ratepayers' Association invited all members of the Graaff-Reinet public to a water symposium at the St James Church Hall in Cross Street.
The panel who led the discussion consisted of Liz Graham, a local reflexologist, Bennie Arends from the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality, Johannes Haarhoff, a retired water engineer now residing in Graaff-Reinet, Amos Mcinga, Umasizakhe resident and member of the Black Business Forum, and Stephen Mullineux and Martin Labuschagne from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) stationed in Cradock.
A lively discussion took place in a spirit of mutual concern and understanding with the issues of water provision for the town, water quality and water usage being addressed.
Water provision
The Department of Water and Sanitation plans for water provision for the next 25 years so with this in mind 22 boreholes have been sunk off the Middelburg road to supplement the water from Nqweba Dam.
This project, including the erection of a steel reservoir, has been funded by the DWS costing R54 million and will be completed by the end of July.
Water from the Orange-Fish scheme is not on the cards as the cost would be exorbitant - getting the water to Graaff-Reinet would cost R2.25 billion and the operation and maintenance R1 million a day. The DWS has studied the water situation in 134 towns and 600 villages and one can search on the DWS website dws.gov.za for the Graaff-Reinet report.
Private boreholes are also depleting the water supply and some felt these should be paid for.
Water usage
As the Nqweba Dam now stands at 19%, water restrictions are in place.
Bennie Arends said to his knowledge flyers have been distributed to all households and the information published in the Graaff-Reinet Advertiser.
He would look into the fact that some residents have not received them. When asked how these restrictions will be policed, Arends said law enforcement in the municipality is weak and the municipality will depend on residents to report infringements.
Rates for water might be increased but at this stage, this is not possible. An audit of water meters has been done recently and the results are pending. Amos Mcinga then said that water usage awareness in Umasizakhe is not high. There is uncertainty about billing as meters are not read and some residents are billed for the same amount every month.
Speakers felt that a deep change of heart about water usage is needed - a change of consumer attitudes and habits. Graaff-Reinetters are not very environmentally conscious, as the poor use of the free recycling service shows. Grey water should be used for gardens. 240 litres per person per day are being used in Graaff-Reinet compared with the world average of 140 litres.
Water quality
The low dam level causes a build-up of algae which smells, said Arends. The pipes are old and the valves need replacing. Dam water is mixed with borehole water. Liz Graham was concerned about the high levels of chlorine which is carcinogenic.
Hyperdosing of water is killing its life force. She is concerned about the increase in asthma, obesity, major allergies, diabetes in children, and learning problems. Arends undertook to check the chlorine level.
The quality of the water is tested and the standards comply with the legal specifications. The Blue Drop system is not used because of the lack of staff to undertake the lengthy and involved process it requires.
The Blue Drop reading is negative because our municipality does not report to this system. Ecoli tests are done regularly and are negative. Mcinga held to the view that the quality of Umasizakhe water is different from that in the Horseshoe although he was assured that it comes from the same source. It was noted that poorer people are buying water.
Residents can improve the quality of their water by installing reverse osmosis systems which are available. For a family of four, this would be cheaper than buying water.
Claud Arnott found that water obtained through this system when tested for dissolved solids showed 38 parts per million while tap water was 998. The required level is 1200 parts per million, Arends told the meeting.
Questions were asked about the popularity of bottled water, which has also been treated. Graham made the point that all treated water is “dead” water, lacking the life-giving force. Tank water, Johannes Haarhoff said, is chemically the purest. This may be boiled and filtered although some residents said that they had drunk water directly from tanks for many years without ill effects.
The DWS were trying to source funds for tanks for RDP houses. Walter Murray suggested that the municipality could supply tanks to those who paid for their water immediately as in this way the cost could be recouped.
Haarhoff pointed to Graaff-Reinet's catchment area which has few contaminants compared with many other towns. Both Stephen Mullineux and Martin Labuschagne assured the meeting that their research shows that Graaff-Reinet water is good compared with that of many other areas.
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