There may be an end in sight for the recurring water woes experienced by residents of Mbombela Municipality’s rental houses at Maggiesdal. During a meeting between the municipality and the ward councillor in the area Mr Hannes de Kock, possible solutions were agreed upon.
The water to Maggiesdal is supplied by council water tankers but according to him, there are not enough tankers or qualified drivers to meet the need in the municipal area. He argues that council’s water tankers are often needed to address critical water-supply shortages in unexpected circumstances and in these instances Maggiesdal’s water supply gets interrupted.
While an integrated human settlements development with piped water is being planned at the location in the long term, De Kock is looking for creative ways to solve the supply challenges in the interim. It was hence agreed at the meeting that delivered water be signed for by tenants in order to control and monitor the frequency and volume of delivery.
Other proposed solutions are to find alternative water supplies such as sinking boreholes, putting existing ones in production and appointing a dedicated independent contractor for the Maggiesdal area.
“We have to make sure we use the existing sources,” he says. In the longer term, “a comprehensive study is needed to find an affordable solution for the interim supply of water to the houses at Maggiesdal”.
He suggests requesting council to approach either Sembcorp Silulumanzi or a water-supply specialist to conduct a survey and study. Yet resident Ms Gerda Spies says for now the situation remains unchanged. Over the past weekend there was no water for three days. “We can’t continue to struggle like this.”
A meeting is to be scheduled soon to discuss the matter further.
