DEAR Editor,-
The constant water shortage in the Ramsgate area started as a trickle on December 21 last year and became a full-blown ‘dry’ storm experienced since April 13. The utter mismanagement of our water supply by the Ugu District Municipality is nothing less than a criminal act perpetrated against thousands of inhabitants and thousands more tourists who visit the area regularly.
Let me put this statement in perspective. The water supply in Ramsgate failed on the following dates : February 15, March 4-5, and 9, 13-16, 18-22, and April 25. As you know, these dates coincided with school holidays and the Easter weekend.
You can imagine the disappointment and outrage of holidaymakers who pay thousands to spend time at the beaches, but had to endure the inconvenience of buying drinking water and being content with not being able to bath or take a shower for days on end!
Holiday letting agents, managers and caretakers of holiday accommodation were inundated with tourist complaints. How many of these tourists will come back to the South Coast for a vacation?
I spoke to people with knowledge regarding the transfer of liquids over great distances and altitudes. It seems that the regulation of pressure in pipelines is the greatest factor that keeps systems safe and operational. I recently communicated with an official responsible for municipal water distribution about the constant pressure bursts of the old asbestos water lines at sea level.
I was informed that water lines in certain areas of Ramsgate (especially at sea level) do not have pressure valves to regulate the constant flow of water, therefore there is a spike in water pressure every time the pipes are fixed. We have become so used to this fluctuation in water pressure, that we can predict when the next pressure burst will occur!
My questions to Ugu are plain and simple: Why are these pressure-regulating forces in water lines not adhered to? The technical teams spend every day fixing burst pipes, but nobody seems to care about the real solutions. How long will we have to endure the discomfort and humiliation? Is it perhaps the poor quality of technical workmanship or does the problem lie higher up in management?
Does Ugu have the financial resources to rectify the situation? Does the political will exist to start planning for future replacement of outdated water pipes? And what about regulating the pressure of water lines to prevent pressure bursts before they occur?
Are we on the way to a real Banana Republic?
JOHANN GROBLER
Ramsgate
