Potchefstroom Dam, once one of the major attractions and assets in Potch, has been closed to the public for the past two years.
This has been due to proposed upgrades and the facility being used as a quarantine site during the Covid-19 pandemic.
After the National State of Disaster was announced in March 2020, the North West Department of Health earmarked Potchefstroom Dam as a quarantine facility.
The facilities though have never been used for quarantine purposes related to Covid-19 cases.
In July 2020, the local command council members confirmed that the facilities were not yet ready for Covid-19-positive patients. Since then, Potchefstroomers have been puzzled by the closure to the public, with weekly enquiries on social media about Potch Dam’s availability as a public facility.
The question remains whether a quarantine site is still needed in the current lockdown level (Level 1). The decrease in Covid-19 numbers, the uptake in vaccinations and a drop in active cases are all factors that would make a quarantine site redundant at this stage.
The North West Department of Health has also stated on Friday, 7 December that there are currently only 7,724 active cases with a recovery rate of 93.3 per cent.
The DA councillor, Hans-Jurie Moolman, sent an enquiry to the local command council about Potchefstroom Dam’s current status. The feedback he received last week was that Potch Dam was in the process of being removed as a quarantine facility, pending written confirmation from the NW Department of Health.
This week, Moolman received confirmation that the municipality is preparing to reopen the Potch Dam to the public, but a specific date is yet to be announced.
“Potch Dam, as a municipal asset, fulfils an important role as a place of recreation to many residents and should be made available to the public,” stated Moolman.
The Herald also sent an enquiry to the J.B. Marks Municipality and the North West Department of Health about the financial impact of Potch Dam’s closure to the public. The paper is yet to receive feedback at the time of publication.
