Hazyview residents left dry and in the dark after Eloise

In the wake of tropical storm Eloise, parts of Hazyview have had no water or electricity since Sunday.

A reliable source within the municipality told Hazyview Herald that the pumps in the two main intake points in the Sabie River became “silted up” during the storm, causing a blockage. 

“We had fair warning that the storm was coming, yet we feel that Mbombela Municipality did not make the necessary provisions to prevent this problem,” said Ken Robertson, Freedom Front Plus (FF+) chairperson in Hazyview.

“The pumps should have been protected to prevent any blockage. The municipality knows this must be done to secure water distribution to the town. I am hoping that there is budget allocated for a scour valve to be installed, which can stop the silt from flooding the intake point.”

ALSO READ: Skukuza flights to resume, Lower Sabie to reopen

As for the power outages, ESKOM have confirmed that it was the storm that caused the outages.

“ESKOM can confirm that the power supply to Hazyview, Sabie and Graskop areas has been restored on Monday,” said Eric Khoza, spokesperson for ESKOM Mpumalanga. “The outages were the result of the cyclone, which ultimately blocked access roads, making it impossible for our technicians to attend to the faults on Sunday.”

According to the source at CMLM, an emergency contractor has been called out today to pull up the pumps and clear the silt. They expect the waterflow to return to normal by tomorrow afternoon.

ALSO READ: UPDATE: Third drowning in the Lowveld confirmed

“Residents in high-lying areas are always the last to receive water when there are problems with infrastructure and we want the CMLM to keep communication with them in times like these as quite often they sit for days without water, while the others lower-lying areas benefit,” said Robertson.

After several attempts to contact CMLM spokesperson Joseph Ngala, Hazyview Herald has yet to receive a response.