Water shortages loom as Croc River runs low
Residents and businesses in town may experience periodic water shortages until June 25 and should restrict their water use to avoid more severe water shortages during winter.
MALALANE – The possible water shortages in town this month are due to a project to replace the roof cover of the town’s reservoir near the water treatment works.
Residents were in an uproar on social media after the majority were left without water for almost three days last week. Some reported that their taps had run dry last Sunday evening and their supply was only restored last Wednesday morning.
Last Tuesday morning, the Nkomazi Local Municipality (NKLM) spokesman, Cyril Ripinga, explained that the water shortages were due to the low levels of the Crocodile River at the Malalane extraction point at Fish Eagle Bend, which made it difficult to pump water to the reservoir.
An excavator was deployed to alleviate the problem. A pipe also burst, which worsened the situation.
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While residents and business owners tried to find out when the water would be restored, a resident forwarded a municipal letter on the project to replace the reservoir roof cover.
The letter was sent last Monday, May 27, and explained that the project would start the next day and is expected to take around 30 days to complete. Work is scheduled to finish by June 25 and will take place between 07:00 and 18:00 each day.
The municipality installed a mobile pumping system to bypass the reservoir to ensure residents have water. However, water interruptions may occur if residents do not use water sparingly, due to the capacity of the mobile system. In these cases, water tankers will be available to assist.
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For any queries or to report municipal problems, residents were urged to contact the municipality’s 24-hour call centre on 013-790-0990.
Several residents remarked on the fact that many people water their garden, and the pavement, excessively and urged residents to work with the municipality to avoid a repeat of the severe water shortage. A few also reported water leaks spotted in town, which were luckily attended to.
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Residents in Tonga, Block A, B, C, Phakama, Mangweni and Mzinti also had water shortages last week.
NKLM notified residents via their Facebook page last Wednesday that electrical cables from the transformer at the Tonga raw water system were stolen. This meant that the plant could not function. On Thursday, one of the pumps had been fixed and was pumping water and the team was busy fixing the others.
On Monday morning, they reported that all the stolen cables had been replaced and all pumps were functional.
All residents in the NKLM are urged to cut down on their water usage to avoid future water shortages due to the low levels of the Crocodile River.
The municipality was notified by Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA) on February 7 to reduce their raw water use abstraction by 20 per cent, which would have an impact on the amount of water available for water users.
Despite this, many residents are not aware of the restrictions. Even the municipality has not cut down on non-essential water use, such as irrigation.
Farmers in the area are currently being restricted to only 25 per cent of their allocation.
In order to ensure that the river’s flow is not stopped, in accordance with ecological flow requirements for areas such as the Kruger National Park and Mozambique, the IUCMA increased releases from dams and imposed stricter restrictions.
If dam and river levels continue to drop over the next few weeks, they may increase restrictions.
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Residents and businesses, even those with boreholes, are urged to stop watering their gardens. Municipalities were required to do the same regarding the irrigation of municipal properties.
Restrictions will only be lifted once sufficient rainfall has stabilised dam and river levels. According to the SA Weather Service’s Seasonal Forecast for May to September, very little rain is expected for the Lowveld and Onderberg during the winter.
