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Communities that have historic water problems could find themselves with none at all after the implementation of a 20% supply reduction by Rand Water due to debt by municipalities.
Residents of two Mpumalanga local municipalities – Victor Khanye in Delmas and Govan Mbeki in Secunda – said they were worried that their “bad” water situation would worsen due to the reduction, which came into effect last week.
Emfuleni local municipality in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, has also been hit by a water reduction.
Victor Khanye and Govan Mbeki municipalities owe Rand Water R194m and R351m respectively. Emfuleni owes the entity R1.1bn.
Despite the reduction measure being put in place, residents said they were not informed about it and had heard about it in the media.
Betty Nyathi, whose home is in a high-lying area in Ext 7 in Delmas, said: “We are in a panic because this means our situation will go from bad to worse.”
When Sowetan visited the area last week, residents said they often go for days without water.
Nyathi said they had no supply on Monday last week.
“The water only returned in the morning [on Tuesday]. We live by collecting water and storing it in buckets for toilet use, drinking and bathing,” she said.
Nyathi said water pressure in their area has been low for a couple of months.
“They [municipality] have been sending water trucks that come when we don’t have water supply. Should you be at work when the truck passes, you will be left without water because it’s not announced what time the truck will come.”
Another resident, Mpho Koma, said municipal officials had only told them that there was a problem caused by pipes.
“We don’t even pay water anymore because it's pointless.”
Zenzele Zungu from Ext 10 said she has been staying in the area for over four years now but had stopped paying her water bill two years ago.
“The bill always arrives before the water does, so what are we paying for? I owe over R30,000 that I’m not willing to pay because the delivery has been very poor and unfair to us,” she said.
Zungu said they were forced to wake up during the night to collect water from taps because that was the only times it becomes available.
“We wake up around midnight to fill buckets and even do laundry at that time because there is no water in the morning,” Zungu said.
In Secunda, Lungile Zwane said she hoped the municipality would resolve the matter before water was totally cut.
“We already have water limitation because our municipality is under administration. I pay my water bill but most people don’t even bother because water is cut every two weeks,” Zwane said.
In Sebokeng, residents who pay for water said it was unfair that they were being punished for the sins of those who do not.
Maria Mofolatsi from Zone 10 said: “Zone 10 and 11 have had water problems for years but reduction means we will suffer more. Last weekend, we had no water from Saturday till Monday but we pay our water and electricity every month.”
Another resident, Kenneth Baepi, from Boiketlong informal settlement in Sebokeng, said they depend on a few taps that have been installed on the streets.
“We stay up in the mountain, so when water pressure drops, we are left without water.”
Govan Mbeki municipal spokesperson Benzi Soko said the municipality was engaged in high-level negotiations with Rand Water.
Rand Water spokesperson Justice Mohale said reduced supply would lessen the pressure of water going into the taps of people who live on mountains and any other high ground areas.
“The water reduction might not be seen immediately but water will trickle and flow will be affected in those areas,” he said.
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