Standerton Correctional Centre inmates allege water crisis is affecting prison conditions
Prisoners claim 10 liters of water shared between two people, must often last up to 3 days.
Water shortages affecting residents of the Lekwa Local Municipality have also spilt over to the prison in Standerton.
Inmates at the Standerton Correctional Centre claim they are experiencing severe water shortages due to the ongoing refurbishment of the Standerton Water Treatment Works.
Several inmates, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that the situation has deteriorated to the point where two inmates are forced to share just 10 litres of water for periods of up to two or three days.
They claimed that the supplied water is at times dirty, discoloured, and unfit for human consumption.
According to the inmates, visitors are also bearing the financial burden of the water shortages, with families allegedly spending around R200 on bottled water to ensure their incarcerated relatives have access to safe drinking water.
ALSO CHECK: Sasol completes emergency water relief project in Secunda
The inmates further alleged that the lack of water has disrupted meal preparation, resulting in prisoners sometimes going hungry or receiving insufficient food.
The R164m refurbishment of the Standerton Water Treatment Works is intended to improve the reliability of bulk water supply and increase storage capacity for the municipality.
Although the project was initially expected to be completed by March, construction is still ongoing and has, at times, affected water supply to surrounding communities.
Residents have endured repeated service delivery disruptions during the construction phase.
Excavations and pipeline replacement work have resulted in frequent water interruptions, with some areas, including Sakhile, experiencing dry taps for several days.
ALSO CHECK: Lekwa residents are divided over call for illegal immigrants to leave SA
To lessen the impact of the outages, the Lekwa Local Municipality has periodically deployed water tankers to affected wards.
The municipality’s communication manager, Lubabalo Majenge, said the municipality is aware of the water challenges affecting the prison.
Majenge said Correctional Services is situated in a high-lying area that is the first to run out of water whenever there is a water supply interruption.
“The municipality has been supplying water to Correctional Services during the refurbishment of Standerton Water Treatment Plant.
“During the water supply interruptions, Correctional Services is supplied with water trucks, and the withdrawal point where the water trucks fill is clean and safe for human consumption.
“The municipality has never received any complaints on water quality from Correctional Services,” said Majenge.
Majenge said the refurbishment project at the Standerton Water Treatment Works is currently at 98% complete. The completion date is July 30.
Majenge also said the Standerton Water Treatment Plant has been operational during the refurbishment project; however, whenever a total water supply shutdown was necessary, the community was informed in advance and advised to store enough water for use during the shutdown period.
He said the municipality also delivered water to correctional services and other institutions, such as schools, via water trucks during the water supply shutdowns.
