Water crisis hits Kagiso hard
Most of the township's residents spent the weekend with dry taps.
Water is a basic human need that all South African citizens have a right to receive, but Kagiso residents are currently not enjoying that right.
On Saturday, 29 October, residents woke up to empty taps and it was only hours later that it was explained that no water would be available. The water began running dry as early as 7am in the morning without any prior warning and it was only a few hours later that residents were told about an alternative source of water.
Ward 13’s councillor, Gilbert Gaselebelwe, arranged with a local gardening project, Oupa’s Lawn and Gardens, to give people access to its borehole water later on in the afternoon.
“This is a crisis. I only realised at 10am in the morning that there was no water and I initially thought that it was a burst pipe, but when I called Mogale City’s emergency services, I found out that there was no water at all, so I had to make alternative arrangements,” Gaselebelwe told the News.
He said that he was angry because he felt that someone should have notified him earlier so that he could have notified the residents.
Jaqueline Pannall, the MMC of Corporate Governance, released a statement yesterday, 30 October, about the crisis in Kagiso.
“Some high-lying areas had already been without water for three days. Kagiso has had various areas with no water at all since Saturday.”
Pannall said in her statement that Mogale City has 50 per cent less water compared to Saturday and residents are urged to use water for human consumption only.
“My son is two and he needs to bath, eat and drink water especially in this heat, so this was really painful. Most of us were only informed about borehole water in the afternoon after we had spent the entire day without water,” said a resident named Maphefo Shapi.
She said that she found the water to be bitter and sour-tasting and that after drinking some of it, her son woke up with a runny tummy.
Gilbert said the water supply would probably be back on by Tuesday or Wednesday and that the borehole water at Oupa’s Lawns and Gardens is free for all residents to use.
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