Town left without water
It seems this tranquil haven in the Onderberg is being hit from all sides. Despite having suffered eight smash-and-grabs over the Easter weekend, the town now has to, yet again, contend with no water.
MARLOTH PARK – And with national media reporting that Eskom’s electricity woes have hastened the failure of water infrastructure around the country, it seems its not just dark days ahead, but also dry ones for Nkomazi.
According to Marloth Park residents, the town’s only pump broke down on Wednesday last week and was taken away for repairs. Nkomazi Local Municipality (NKLM) advised that it will be fixed and replaced by Friday March, 10 at noon.
In the past, the timeline was never met, but this time, Pat Wilmans, a property owner in Marloth Park and a business person in Mbombela, told Corridor Gazette that she was, at the time, personally overseeing the repairs in the city in order to expedite things.
The town’s back-up pump was removed in December 2014 to be repaired, but this has never happened as the order to purchase the much needed parts was never placed. Wilmans has taken up the issue with all role players as well as NKLM. The reservoir tank which has been supplying the town with some water since the pump broke, was running empty as this article was being written.
Wilmans said that NKLM informed the residents last week Tuesday morning that a problem existed as the pump from the river, broke down for the third time this year. By then, the town’s people had very little water pressure and was already using it sparingly.
The reservoir and the small pump left behind are in no way large enough to supply the town with sufficient water and by Thursday morning, last week, the situation was dire. It once again, seemed to be due to lack of proper maintenance of existing water equipment.
Although the council blames the old apartheid infrastructure, it is not the case, as most river pumps had to be replaced after the 2000 flood when it was washed away.
In Malalane, the river pump, according to engineering experts, was rebuilt at a totally wrong angle and short-term changes with no visible positive results had been made in the meantime.
And with regard to the reappearance of, as townsfolk call him, “the barefoot bandit,” people are urged to be on the alert when they stop or park their vehicles.
