Update

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Many concerns and questions were raised in the article in last week’s Graaff-Reinet Advertiser about the water crisis in Graaff-Reinet, and Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality has responded, both directly to the newspaper and through social media on its Facebook page.

One of the pleas from the community was indeed for improved communication, as the water supply interruptions were exacerbated by the lack of the information from the municipality.

On the question of the taps often running dry, the municipality responded that demand is outstripping supply, and that currently they are just not able to supply all residents 24 hours a day. "It is known that the people are currently using more water than is available," said acting spokesperson, Wilca Smith. She explained that boreholes are only permitted to pump a certain amount of water per day, as per the standards of Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation. Smith reiterated the plea that residents use water sparingly, and recommended that people fill spare buckets when water is available.

Many people requested schedules showing when water trucks would be in the different areas, but Smith said the municipality does not know in advance which area will be without water at what time - unlike electricity loadshedding which can be predicted and prepared for. "It must also be considered that it is impossible to estimate how much water one person is going to take from the truck or for example how long the queue is going to be," she said. 

"There is a plan in place to address the situation and as soon as it is finalised, the municipality will communicate with residents."

Bad water concerns
Regarding the health concerns raised by a resident of Umasizakhe, Smith assured residents that the matter will be addressed with the relevant parties.

Adendorp’s water quality was also questioned, along with the frequent non-availability, and the mayor met with the community. According to Smith, problems in Adendorp are being attended to as soon as residents lodge a complaint of no water. However, residents were quick to contradict this. "Not once has there been a prompt response," said Natalie Davenport. "We called the municipality a few times and were passed from person to person. They couldn’t say why the water was off, and they acted like they didn’t even know where Adendorp is!"

In a post on the municipality’s Facebook page, widely shared with many negative comments, it was admitted that there are problems, blamed on the drought, vandalism and power failures. While these factors are important, the oft-repeated response from the community is that the lack of maintenance plays the biggest role in the crisis.

The water for the Horseshoe area, Umasizakhe and Kroonvale comes from the same source. Under normal circumstances, this would be the Nqweba Dam, supplemented by boreholes in the Northern Wellfield. However, due to the poor water quality because of the low dam level, these areas have been supplied solely by the boreholes since 8 February. Asherville, Bergendal and Adendorp are supplied by the Mimosadale boreholes. 

The municipality assured the community that the water is safe to drink, but because of the bad smell and occasional small red worms in the water, many residents buy and drink only bottled water.

Bulk water project
An explanation was given about the status of the bulk water supply project. In July 2016, a contractor was appointed for this R42m groundwater infrastructure development in the Northern Wellfield and Mimosadale. This should include construction of pump stations, equipping of boreholes, rising mains, telemetry and construction of a reservoir. 

However in January 2018, the municipality received instruction from the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation that budgets had been reallocated. This brought the project to a standstill, and the amount now allowed had already been spent. The department was urged to reconsider, and work recommenced on 8 February, albeit with a reduced budget.

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