Rietspruit’s taps, outside of eMalahleni in Mpumalanga, are dry since July 4 when infrastructure was vandalised. Water tankers delivering water have now become a war zone as desperate residents fight for the very last drop in a supply that is not nearly enough to supply everyone.

A vandalised water treatment is the reason why residents are fighting their way to the front when the water truck stops.

Tempers are boiling and some have turned to a nearby river to collect water for household use.

“The municipal teams and service providers are hard at work reinstating the vandalised infrastructure. It should be noted that the water supply system in Rietspruit has dried out and it will take time to recover,” says municipal spokesperson Mr Lebo Mofokeng.

“The sewerage plant at Rietspruit was vandalised on June 25 and on July 4 the water treatment plant was vandalised,” says Yolandie Vermeulen, a Rietspruit resident

She says people are using water from the raw dam because the water trucks that are being provided are not sufficient and some households are not getting water.

The municipality says water should return by Monday.