Newcastle water crisis: municipality answers

The petition was prompted after a water crisis saw the town running dry for two weeks. Residents were left infuriated after accusing the municipality of not providing answers.

Finally, the municipality released a statement where it appeared to blame the outage on last week’s heat wave, compounded by a lack of rain, putting ‘enormous strain on the town’s water supply.

“In cases where water in the reservoir is below the acceptable level, a notice of closing the outlet will be issued to affected residents to allow it to reach its optimum capacity,” the municipality’s statement read.

“Burst pipes and water leaks due to ageing infrastructure also have an impact on the water supply.

“To overcome water supply challenges, a temporary water schedule will be communicated to residents through ward councillors and ward committees to supply water on a rotational basis, i.e. alternating water supply between Madadeni, Osizweni, and rural areas. The municipality will continue dispatching water tankers in areas where severe water shortages are experienced on a daily basis; however, the budget is not sufficient to procure or secure more water tankers. The municipality will assign a dedicated team to tackle the “war on leaks” programme to identify and repair all water leaks.”

Residents not impressed
However, this did not go down well with residents who said they refused to accept ‘‘poor excuses’. In a statement to the Advertiser, organisers of the petition said some communities have been without clean, drinkable water for months, while others have faced this issue for the past few weeks.

Johan Pieters, Chairman of the Newcastle Growth Coalition, said Angela Masefield of the Department of Water and Sanitation confirmed that water was released to the Newcastle Municipality to ensure the community has water.

“We visited the Ngagane Water Purification plant on Friday. We were informed that there is water at the water purification plant, and the plant is pumping water out as quickly as possible. A visit to the Hilldrop reservoirs showed that only four of the five reservoirs are in working condition and that the reservoir was only 17% full on Friday; today it is 34%. We have tried to phone the Newcastle Municipality and Uthekla Water Management, but there has been no answer or reply. We urge the leadership to give the community answers to questions. We have no official notices of the 24-hour team that will assist with water leaks or problems.”

Residents believe that fault lies not with the lack of rain, but rather with the Newcastle Municipality and Uthukela Water.

“Newcastle is losing 45% of its water supply due to leaks, broken water pipes, and unqualified service providers contracted by the municipality.”

The community demands:

1. The Newcastle Municipality restore the water supply to Newcastle East and West within 48 hours.
2. The Newcastle Municipality confirm how the reservoirs ran dry without implementing a continuous water management plan.
3. The Newcastle Municipality establish a 24-hour crisis desk with a dedicated phone number where water losses can be reported, along with a commitment to complete repairs within 24 hours.
4. The Newcastle Municipality provide water tankers to all affected areas
5. The Newcastle Municipality leadership must take full responsibility for this crisis and resolve it within 48 hours.

“The municipality has 48 hours to resolve the issue, failing which the community of Newcastle East and West will take action against the leadership of the Newcastle Municipality and Uthukela Water.”

Sign the petition here: Make a Diffrence in our town

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