Several communities in Buffalo City Metro have been without water for weeks due to technical problems at a feeder dam.
The water outage has affected areas like Needs Camp, Ncerha villages, Kaysers Beach, Kuni villages, Tembisa and all farms along the Kaysers Beach road.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said their water supplier, Amatola Water, had problems but water tankers were being provided while repairs were under way.
By Tuesday afternoon, Matebese said water had been restored. “The repairs are complete and the system is operational in the Ndevana pumping main. The water will be restored and all the areas will get water.”
The Daily Dispatch contacted residents and while some said water had been restored, many were still waiting.
Needs Camp resident Vukile Matebe said the water outage had caused chaos and people felt the state had abandoned them.
“We are not happy with this. Who can live for three weeks without running water in this day and age? Something needs to be done so that something like this never happens again.”
Manhoza Dlani from Kuni village described the situation as “degrading”.
“We are drinking with cattle and yet those in big houses are drinking fresh water. We are not happy with this,” said Dlani.
Misiwe Keswa from Needs Camp G-section said the problem had been ongoing for months.
“We are in real crisis. People from F and H section have been without water for weeks. We need a solution,” said Keswa.
Democratic Alliance councillor Dillon Webb said two months ago that his party was distressed to learn that people in areas of Mdantsane, Phumlani, Needs Camp and Sparrow Mkhonto had been without water for more than five days.
Amatola Water spokeswoman Connie Buso-Niwa confirmed the problem had been fixed.
She said interruptions were due to three pipe breaks in a short period of time on the rising main at Ndevana pump station.
“The pump station belongs to Amatola Water. This may have been caused by after-effects of load-shedding. The abrupt stopping and starting of pumps at short intervals may have played a role in the pipe breaks,” said Buso-Niwa.
She said the Needs Camp and Ncerha areas experienced water interruptions because of these breaks.
“The problem has since been fixed and the areas have sufficient water supply.”
On Tuesday Phumlani resident Saneliswe Apleni confirmed that some areas were starting to get water.
“We can confirm a few areas are getting water. Residents will give this a couple of days before they can rejoice. Otherwise for now they are filling their empty containers for anything that can happen,” said Apleni. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
Feeder dam hitch leaves villages dry
The water outage has affected areas like Needs Camp, Ncerha villages, Kaysers Beach, Kuni villages, Tembisa and all farms along the Kaysers Beach road.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese said their water supplier, Amatola Water, had problems but water tankers were being provided while repairs were under way.
By Tuesday afternoon, Matebese said water had been restored. “The repairs are complete and the system is operational in the Ndevana pumping main. The water will be restored and all the areas will get water.”
The Daily Dispatch contacted residents and while some said water had been restored, many were still waiting.
Needs Camp resident Vukile Matebe said the water outage had caused chaos and people felt the state had abandoned them.
“We are not happy with this. Who can live for three weeks without running water in this day and age? Something needs to be done so that something like this never happens again.”
Manhoza Dlani from Kuni village described the situation as “degrading”.
“We are drinking with cattle and yet those in big houses are drinking fresh water. We are not happy with this,” said Dlani.
Misiwe Keswa from Needs Camp G-section said the problem had been ongoing for months.
“We are in real crisis. People from F and H section have been without water for weeks. We need a solution,” said Keswa.
Democratic Alliance councillor Dillon Webb said two months ago that his party was distressed to learn that people in areas of Mdantsane, Phumlani, Needs Camp and Sparrow Mkhonto had been without water for more than five days.
Amatola Water spokeswoman Connie Buso-Niwa confirmed the problem had been fixed.
She said interruptions were due to three pipe breaks in a short period of time on the rising main at Ndevana pump station.
“The pump station belongs to Amatola Water. This may have been caused by after-effects of load-shedding. The abrupt stopping and starting of pumps at short intervals may have played a role in the pipe breaks,” said Buso-Niwa.
She said the Needs Camp and Ncerha areas experienced water interruptions because of these breaks.
“The problem has since been fixed and the areas have sufficient water supply.”
On Tuesday Phumlani resident Saneliswe Apleni confirmed that some areas were starting to get water.
“We can confirm a few areas are getting water. Residents will give this a couple of days before they can rejoice. Otherwise for now they are filling their empty containers for anything that can happen,” said Apleni. — bonganif@dispatch.co.za
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