GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Disaster relief group Gift of the Givers will bring its expertise to Graaff-Reinet in response to the on-going water crisis.
After receiving several calls over the last few weeks about the desperate situation in the area, a representative from Gift of the Givers contacted the Advertiser for verification of the problem.
“By all accounts, the town is on its knees, "water speaking" and drastic intervention is urgently required,” said Imtiaz Sooliman, chairman and founder of the organisation.
He explained that Gift of the Givers is the new official rapid response unit for the National Department of Water and Sanitation, as requested by Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
Known for quick response in times of emergency, Gift of the Givers will send three superlinks laden with water, three water tankers, a drilling machine and its hydrologist, dr Gideon Groenewald, to Graaff-Reinet next Tuesday.
According to Sooliman, Groenewald has a thorough knowledge of the area, having mapped a comprehensive report of groundwater sources in 1999, commissioned and paid for by Dr Anton Rupert.
“The main issue of supplying water to all communities is based on a simple reality that too little water reaches the main storage tanks in the lower-lying areas to automatically let the booster pumps kick in to pump water to the higher reservoirs,” Sooliman explained.
“The solution lies in developing existing or new boreholes, managing known aquifers, supplying water at a rate that exceeds water use in low lying areas, allowing pumping systems to run effectively and fill high lying reservoirs as a matter of urgency, and to drill boreholes directly in high lying areas if the geography allows that,” he said, adding that Groenewald will deal with these issues.
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