When will the water supply in Vryheid be turned back on?

THE question has been burning on the lips of every Vryheider who has had to carry home containers of water to survive the drought, and every business owner who has felt the pinch in productivity and profit, having learned the value of water in his or her daily operations.

You have been asking this question ever since the rainy season has seen a significant increase in the dam levels in Vryheid.

When will the water supply be turned back on?

We asked acting municipal manager, Dalisu Zulu, and Director of the Technical Services Department, Vasan Chetty, for an answer. From what we heard them say, we warn you that Vryheid’s taps may be dry for a while still.

Mr Chetty indicated that the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) controls when water restrictions are implemented and when they may be lifted. This means that AbaQulusi municipality would have to wait for DWA’s instruction to resupply water to the town. Officials at DWA indicated earlier this week that the instruction to reconnect the town’s water supply will be given at the next Joint Operations Committee (JOC) meeting that will be held in Ulundi next week.

But… this does not mean that Vryheid will see water running out of its taps anytime soon.

Before the water supply is restored, AbaQulusi municipality still has to find R5 million in its budget to replace the 5 000 odd water meters that have been stolen while the water has been turned off. Mr Zulu said that a police report regarding the stolen meters has been filed with the municipality’s insurance provider and he is waiting for the assessors to complete their investigation to determine if the insurance company will compensate the municipality for its loss and by how much.

“We also have equitable share coming in and we may use some of that money to replace the meters, if we have to, but the decision rests with the council,” added Mr Chetty.

However, if you think that the water supply will be restored with the replacement of the water meters, you are still wrong.

All four of the water pumps at Klipfontein dam are out of order. Nearly two years ago, these pumps were refurbished by the Zululand District municipality to the tune of R1 million. However, AbaQulusi municipality has failed to perform even basic maintenance on the pumps since then, resulting in all four pumps being out of order once again. AbaQulusi municipality will have to find the funds to repair at least two of the pumps in order to restore the water supply to the town. With AbaQulusi’s reputation for non-payment, convincing service providers to conduct the repairs may not be an easy task. We also hear that AbaQulusi municipality is in such a state of financial doldrums that it waits for the current month’s revenue to come in, in order to be able to afford to pay salaries. Furthermore, the pumps at the Bhekuzulu Sewage Works have been out of order for two years, resulting in sewage flowing uninhibited into Klipfontein Dam for that period of time.

Even when the municipality replaces the stolen meters and repairs the pumps, Vryheid’s water crisis will persist, as 78km of water pipes beneath Vryheid are still asbestos.

Asbestos pipes become dry and brittle when there is no water flowing through, and we can expect a number of burst pipes as a result, when the water supply is eventually restored to the town. Replacing all of the asbestos pipes with PVC would cost the municipality roughly R80 million, so the Technical Services Department will not be able to replace all the asbestos pipes with PVC. Instead, it will have to replace sections of asbestos pipes as they burst, with PVC, to ensure a continued water supply.

So, hold onto your plastic containers, JoJo tanks and pressure pumps a while longer, Vryheid. Don’t discard the contact number of that nice oomie who fills your JoJo tanks or brings water to your house just yet. It may still be a while before things return to normal.

In the meantime, the municipality is also feeling the pinch as it loses R7 million a month in revenue while the water is turned off. That’s R84 million off the annual budget.