Residents of Standerton were without water for several days during the past week due to breakdowns at the Standerton Water Treatment Plant (WTP).

Several planned water supply interruptions also took place earlier in October. These interruptions include an outage on October 7 for the connection and disconnection of electrical panels and the commissioning of the Candy Plant at the WTP.

On October 21 and 23, water supplies were interrupted between 06:30 and 18:30 for the excavation of trenches to install new raw water pipelines.

Water supplies were interrupted unexpectedly on October 18 due to low levels of raw water abstraction. The public was notified later that day that the technical team was monitoring the situation and working to fully restore water flow.

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A damaged electrical cable and burst pipe at the WTP caused another unexpected water supply interruption on October 27. The public was later notified that work at the WTP was delayed due to heavy rainfall.

Water was still not restored by October 28, causing Lekwa to send seven water trucks to Ext 8, the Standerton Correctional Centre, Ward 5, Ward 11, clinics, and schools.

When repairs were finally completed, the municipality stated that two of the five pumps at the WTP had broken down. According to the Lekwa Local Municipality communications team, the water supply was not fully restored until October 29 at 17:44.

However, residents notified the municipality that water supplies were not restored in parts of Standerton on October 30. Many residents continue to struggle with low water supplies.

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