Water shortages in Burgersfort caused by the drought

BURGERSFORT – Residents in the town are urged to use water sparingly. In recent weeks, many residents have questioned the lack of water in the town and neighbouring areas.

Speaking to Steelburger/Lydenburg News, Lepelle Northern Water’s (LNW) Simon Mpamonyane said the water supply had previously been acceptable until challenges experienced as a result of the drought affected sustainable supply.

“Plans are at an advanced stage to augment the water supply from Mooihoek Scheme to meet demand. LNW is working tirelessly with Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) to rectify the situation and wish to request patience from our communities and affected stakeholders.”

According to Mpamonyane, with the Spekboom River drying up, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and SDM have started consultations with farmers upstream to release water into the river.

“We are aware of the challenges of water shortages in Burgersfort. This is due to the drought having negatively affected the Spekboom River. The supply of water is mostly from boreholes. The other challenge is that boreholes are also drying up due to the water table having dropped.”

Mpamonyane said LNW is capable of supplying 40 per cent of the production and augment the supply from Mooihoek Scheme, which is not enough to cover the whole town.

“The status will unfortunately stay as is until it rains. LNW will work with SDM to ration water supply at reticulation level to cater for residents.” He said those residing in high-lying areas will be most affected by the current situation, due to the decreased pressure. He also indicated that Ohrigstad is not affected by the situation as it has its own separate resource (groundwater), and it is manageable. Meanwhile SDM’s spokesman, Willy Mosoma, said some parts of the district municipality have been declared water disaster areas.

“It is indeed true that the majority of our water sources in the district are running dry. This poses a serious challenge to us as the water service provider and to all our people. We are also working with the Presidency to find a permanent solution to this challenge.”

Mosoma said the De Hoop Dam was unable to meet its desired results, because the Malekana Water Treatment Plant has less capacity to push water up to Jane Furse and the Moutse Bulk Water Supply project has since been interrupted before being completed.

“We are working very hard with other government spheres to solve all these problems, so that people can receive water.”

The two institutions advised residents to

• Use a broom to sweep pavements and avoid using hose pipes

• Use shower to reduce water usage and time

• Just use water for domestic use

• Use a cup when brushing teeth and close the tap

• Fill your bathtub with just a few centimetres

• Report leaking taps and toilets and report leaking pipes for repair

• Use buckets when washing cars

• Stop watering gardens.