Last week’s lack of water in the city has been proclaimed as “the biggest emergency project since I have become mayor” by Freddy Greaver.
Greaver spoke at a press conference on Tuesday morning, during which he informed those present that the company responsible for the cause of the water shortage had agreed to pay damages. He said the main water pipeline from the Krugersburg bulk reservoir was damaged and ripped open in at least three places. The company responsible for this, Light Fibre, was to pay the municipality for all expenses incurred in the repair process of the pipeline, he said. The value of the compensation had not yet been verified.
In addition the company would donate R150 000 to the municipality’s bursary fund to compensate the city for the inconvenience caused by the lack of water.
Greaver said Light Fibre promised to compensate the municipality for all material, equipment hired, meals provided to workers, water losses of 2,7Ml and other expenses.
The damage was caused when, in spite of being provided with the location of the waterpipes, the company decided to divert from their plan to bypass another obstacle, and in the process ripped open the main 550 diameter water supply pipeline near Savannah Mall in three different places, Greaver explained. One of the conditions set by the municipality, was that the company would not be allowed to use machinery in built-up areas, but make use of manual labour.
When the damage was repaired, another pipe burst was revealed further down the pipeline, and then yet another area affected popped up.
“That is why the initial deadline could not be met. We needed additional pipes and couplings and when supplies totally ran out, Lepelle Northern Water had to go and manufacture – in Phalaborwa – additional parts, the manufacturing process of which took eight hours,” Greaver explained.
He said the municipality was assisted by two other companies to repair the damages as speedily as possible and teams worked around the clock to fix the problem.
“I really want to apologise to the community. We did not have control over it,” he said earnestly.
The problem was repaired by Saturday morning, and most areas had water by late afternoon. Reservoirs had to return to sufficient levels to have enough pressure for water to reach higher lying areas.
To add to the municipality’s woes, the power station at the Ebenezer dam experienced a power shortage on Sunday evening, which also affected the levels at reservoirs. This was according to municipal spokesperson, Matshidiso Mothapo, who said areas that could possibly still be affected were Bendor, Flora Park, Ivydale, Ivy Park and parts of Nirvana.
“The areas will have low pressure or no water at all. Because there was no water for three days, the water pipeline was empty and the reservoirs did not receive water. The power shortage caused a delay in the reservoirs filling up so that everyone could have a sustainable supply of water,” Mothapo said.
He urged residents to use water sparingly as this would assist the filling of the reservoirs. “Water tankers have been arranged to assist the affected areas. The municipality apologises to the public for the inconvenience and together with Lepelle Northern Water we are committed to ensuring that normal supply is restored,” Mothapo concluded.
