By ADRIENNE CARLISLE
THE entire city of Grahamstown went without water for most of yesterday after its second pump station went silent.
This time it was Howieson’s Poort pump station which feeds reservoirs on the western side of the city that ground to a halt in the face of a major electricity outage.
The already stretched water supply to the city slowly trickled to a complete stop by mid-morning yesterday.
The water crisis unfolded as artists, traders and visitors arrived in the city for the National Arts Festival which kicks off tomorrow.
Makana Municipality first went into crisis mode on Sunday when the pumping station at its James Kleynhans Waterworks Treatment Plant to the east of the city flooded, submerging and damaging all its pumps.
By 10pm on Monday, the municipality promised they were back on track. Damaged pump motors had been trucked off to East London to be dried and repaired.
One spare pump was back in action at James Kleynhans and pumping at a minimal rate.
At the time, Makana municipal spokeswoman Yoliswa Ramokolo said the municipality was confident all would be normalised in time for the festival.
But the municipality had not banked on electricity outages.
Ramokolo yesterday said the early morning power outage stopped the Howieson’s Poort pumps for some hours, leading to the drainage of the western water reservoirs as well as inside and outside lay dams.
She said although the pump stations kicked off again at about 7am yesterday, when the electricity returned, it took at least eight hours to raise the reservoir levels.
She urged residents to use water sparingly when the water returned to their taps during the night.
Ramokolo said the lone pump at the James Kleynhans Waterworks Treatment Plant had begun delivering water at 60% of its capacity.
The remaining motors sent to East London to dry out were on their way back to the plant.
The water situation is expected to normalise this morning.
Hundreds of disgruntled residents resorted to a local spring to draw water or bought bottled water from shops.
Amatola Water and the Department of Water and Sanitation have stepped in to assist the municipality with its water woes.
Thousands of visitors are expected to descend on Grahamstown for the festival which annually attracts an estimated 220000 visitors over 11 days.
A confident Makana mayor Nomhle Gaga yesterday told the Daily Dispatch that the water situation was under control.
“You must not worry.”
She said the municipality was also fast-tracking disciplinary investigations into the causes of the water outages. — Additional reporting by David Macgregor
Grahamstown taps run dry after morning power outage
THE entire city of Grahamstown went without water for most of yesterday after its second pump station went silent.
This time it was Howieson’s Poort pump station which feeds reservoirs on the western side of the city that ground to a halt in the face of a major electricity outage.
The already stretched water supply to the city slowly trickled to a complete stop by mid-morning yesterday.
The water crisis unfolded as artists, traders and visitors arrived in the city for the National Arts Festival which kicks off tomorrow.
Makana Municipality first went into crisis mode on Sunday when the pumping station at its James Kleynhans Waterworks Treatment Plant to the east of the city flooded, submerging and damaging all its pumps.
By 10pm on Monday, the municipality promised they were back on track. Damaged pump motors had been trucked off to East London to be dried and repaired.
One spare pump was back in action at James Kleynhans and pumping at a minimal rate.
At the time, Makana municipal spokeswoman Yoliswa Ramokolo said the municipality was confident all would be normalised in time for the festival.
But the municipality had not banked on electricity outages.
Ramokolo yesterday said the early morning power outage stopped the Howieson’s Poort pumps for some hours, leading to the drainage of the western water reservoirs as well as inside and outside lay dams.
She said although the pump stations kicked off again at about 7am yesterday, when the electricity returned, it took at least eight hours to raise the reservoir levels.
She urged residents to use water sparingly when the water returned to their taps during the night.
Ramokolo said the lone pump at the James Kleynhans Waterworks Treatment Plant had begun delivering water at 60% of its capacity.
The remaining motors sent to East London to dry out were on their way back to the plant.
The water situation is expected to normalise this morning.
Hundreds of disgruntled residents resorted to a local spring to draw water or bought bottled water from shops.
Amatola Water and the Department of Water and Sanitation have stepped in to assist the municipality with its water woes.
Thousands of visitors are expected to descend on Grahamstown for the festival which annually attracts an estimated 220000 visitors over 11 days.
A confident Makana mayor Nomhle Gaga yesterday told the Daily Dispatch that the water situation was under control.
“You must not worry.”
She said the municipality was also fast-tracking disciplinary investigations into the causes of the water outages. — Additional reporting by David Macgregor
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