GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - There are still huge problems with the water supply to many areas of Graaff-Reinet.

Last Thursday, Kroonvale, Selfbou, Umasizakhe, and Bergendal had no water.

According to the municipality, this was due to the electricity interruptions, as water could not be pumped and reservoirs emptied.

It was hoped that the reservoirs would fill up during the night and water would be available the next day, but this was not the case.

More problems were caused by boulders in a reservoir in Kroonvale, vandalism which begs many questions as to security around the water resource.

Kroonvale, Santaville, Selfbou, Umasizakhe, Bergendal and the new area of Asherville were some of the suburbs affected by this.

As one resident remarked, if boulders can be thrown in, then so could toxins and unsavoury items such as used nappies, which would be an obvious health hazard. In response to this, Wilca Smith, acting spokesperson for the Dr. Beyers Naudé Municipality, stated that the reservoirs have now been secured with welded lids. Previously they were protected by palisade fencing, but this had been stolen. Once again, vandalism and theft combining to destroy a vital resource.

There was also concern about the safety of municipal workers - in photos of the boulders and rocks being removed, posted on Facebook by the municipality, a worker is clearly seen in overalls, but with no protective gloves or safety helmet. Smith explained that the reservoir was safe as it had been emptied before the staff went in in order to remove all the boulders. She pointed out that the water in the reservoir is clean borehole water.

Despite promises that water trucks would be circulating, residents were not happy, and it seemed that some areas were not serviced at all.

There have been a number of complaints on social media about the lack of communication from the municipality about progress on solving the problems - although this has improved with updates on the municipality's Facebook page, those without access to social media remain largely in the dark about events. It would seem that there has been no attempt to notify the community using loudhailers or notices in public places.

Many of Graaff-Reinet's suburbs were once again without water on Monday morning. There was an electrical failure at the Damkamp boreholes site, which meant that water could not be pumped. There are eight drinking water reservoirs in total, and most were affected.

The areas affected by this incident on Monday include Graaff-Reinet's Horseshoe area, Umasizakhe, Mandela Park, the industrial area, Bergendal, Spandauville, Sunnyside, Donkerhoek, College Road, Reinet Park and Cypress Grove.

Electricians later located the problem - a cable behind Lokasie Kop was broken and members of staff had difficulty accessing the area, having to carry tools by foot to the site of the breakage. It was promised that as soon as the cable was fixed, water would be pumped.

Many people are already buying water to drink, due to the perceived poor quality and frequent lack of availability of clean water, but the lack of water is also affecting basic hygiene.

People have been unable to wash themselves, their clothes and dirty dishes, and the lack of water for flushing toilets has been a huge concern.

This is also a problem in the schools and businesses -– a teacher at Spandau Secondary School reported that the principal had instructed cleaning staff to ensure that there were bottles of water for flushing available in the toilets, but with 1 200 pupils, this is not easy.

Public buildings such as the magistrate's court also closed their toilet facilities to the public. At the Graaff-Reinet Museum, staff had to ask visitors to use the buckets of water provided for hand-washing and flushing the toilets, but not all complied, leaving the staff with the unhygienic task of checking regularly.

Restaurants and coffee shops were also badly affected on Monday - some are fortunate enough to have rainwater tanks and were able to use buckets in the toilets, but it was a very challenging situation.

About 12:30 on Monday, the municipality notified followers of its Facebook page that the electrical repairs had been completed. The water pumps were then running, and communities were asked to be patient as would take time for the reservoir to fill up.

A tiny trickle was filtering through in some areas about 13:00, but others were only still experiencing a slow flow by late afternoon.

It was after 18:00 before Bergendal residents had water in their taps, but late on Monday evening, Queen Street, parts of Cradock Street and Umasizakhe were still without water.

On Tuesday morning, 7de Laan in Umasizakhe initially reported no water, but later residents reported that they were at least getting water, albeit at a very slow rate. No other problems have been reported, and many residents expressed their thanks to those who had worked in the difficult conditions to restore the power and thus the water supply.

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