Water woes threaten school
Local dam at 2% as drought threatens normal daily routines
A school in drought-stricken Adelaide might have to close if it runs out of water reserves, after the Amathole district municipality announced dam levels were at 2%.
This week, the municipality, which is the water and sanitation authority for the Raymond Mhlaba municipality, announced that the Adelaide Dam was at an alarmingly low level.
Residents should expect water shortages, the district authority warned.
“The current supply is likely to last for a week, after which Adelaide communities will experience water shortages,” said ADM spokesperson Noni Vuso. She said the municipality had made contingency plans to provide water to residents, but this would not meet all the area’s needs.
“A borehole in Adelaide will continue to provide water though it is not sufficient to cater for the whole demand,” Vuso said.
On Thursday, the Daily Dispatch visited the area and one of the affected institutions, the Adelaide Gymnasium Boarding School, which has 419 pupils enrolled.
School principal Paul Geswendt said the water shortages had not yet affected the school because it had a back- up supply. “These water problems started two years ago, but luckily for us we have a borehole on our premises. But I don’t know how far the borehole will carry us.
“That is our only contingency plan,” Geswendt said.
The school has boarding houses for girls and boys and constantly uses water for ablution purposes. Combined, the hostels have 51pupils.
“If we run out of water unfortunately we will have to do the last resort, we will have to close the school either early or until we have water.
“We never used the water [from the school’s borehole] for drinking but for toilets and other use. We use the municipality water for drinking and cooking,” he said.
A Dispatch team visited the dam which is on a cliff about 3km from the CBD. Locals were busy fishing in the little water that is left.
One of the residents told the Dispatch that the town had not had sufficient rainfall since last year.
To save the dam from completely drying out, the municipality implements water cuts. Noni said they implement restrictions from 5am to 9am and then from 5pm to 8.30pm.
“You have to wake up early and fill all your containers for the day. We are living that life here,” a resident said.
Vuso said in an effort to avoid “Day Zero”, the municipality would make use of the Fish River, which also supplies the village of Bedford.
“The dam mainly relies on the Koonap River which is currently dry owing to drought.”
Provincial health spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha said the Adelaide Hospital would not be affected by the water shortages as it had back up. The Dispatch team counted about 15 water tanks and a water reservoir at the hospital.
Amathole region has been one of the Eastern Cape areas worst affected by the drought that has gripped the province since 2015...
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