Flora Park residents band together to ease their water woes
While many residents are fed up with the current water supply problem, residents of Sour Plum, Gardenia streets and De Wet Drive in Flora Park have now formed the Upper Flora Park and Serala View Residents Association in the hope of better days.
POLOKWANE – These residents say they have not had a drop of water since last Wednesday and are regularly affected by the supply problem for longer periods than the other areas. To add insult to injury, many say their municipal bills have tripled since the water supply problems started.
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The Deputy Chairperson of the association, Malesela Shadung said they tried to engage with the municipality, which is aware of their challenges.
“We sometimes go without water for weeks.” He said the problem started a year ago.
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This year, they have held community meetings since 9 April. On 12 April, they again met with the ward councillor. On 17 April, they met with municipal officials and on 23 April, with the mayor. “She told us a contractor has been appointed to render services.” He further said it was difficult to ascertain, according to the schedule, when exactly water would be available, “you can be mid-shower and then the water will be gone”.
A resident from Sour Plum Street, Tshilidzi Ratshibaya, confirmed they haven’t had a steady flow of water since last year.
“We are tired of not having water when everyone around us has water. They told us that we will have water in two months, when the construction of the reservoir is done, but we can’t wait that long. We can’t wait until July to get water, it’s difficult to survive as it is,” she said.
Municipal Spokesperson, Thipa Selala said pressure remains the biggest problem for residents of the said area. “A pressure pump, which will be able to provide enough pressure to make sure that the water reaches everyone, is to be installed.” He said the project is expected to take two months to complete.
“The municipality has started with the process of resolving the issues affecting Flora Park and other parts within Polokwane. There is a process to install a high pressure pump and mini-reservoir in the area. A contractor has been introduced to the community and the community needs to work closely with the ward councillor. The steering committee is also in place. The mayor has encouraged the community to be part of the process and we will be monitoring the process closely.”
