The Grahamstown Correctional Centre, industrial area and military base have all been functioning without an adequate water supply for a number of months. This is mainly due to the demand far exceeding the supply in Grahamstown at present.
The Grahamstown Correctional Centre, industrial area and military base have all been functioning without an adequate water supply for a number of months. This is mainly due to the demand far exceeding the supply in Grahamstown at present.
Water issues were again discussed at the recent water indaba as one of the main challenges. A report was submitted last month by the Technical and Infrastructural Services Director to the Land, Housing, Infrastructural Development portfolio committee regarding this matter.
According to the report, in April the dam levels dropped drastically in Settlers Dam and Howison’s Poort Dam which feeds into the area’s water resource, the Waainek Treatment Plant.
Makana Municipality has a two pipeline system that feeds Grahamstown East and West. Currently only one line is operational.
The report read, “we are currently overloading the James Kleynhans treatment plant and areas like Vukani, New Town, Cradock Heights and Joza are the most affected, because immediately when the levels drop at the main reservoir in Botha’s Hill they don’t receive water.”
The capacity of the plant therefore cannot cater for the entire Grahamstown community and funding is required to upgrade the bulk water supply from James Kleynhans.
The municipality held a meeting with the Grahamstown Military Base last month. According to the minutes of a meeting, the municipality is in the process of upgrading the operational pipeline plant at an estimated cost of R30-million.
As the minutes explain: “The current demand on the operational plant line is too much and reservoirs all over Grahamstown do not have enough chance to fill up”.
Just above three megalitres, (which the Waainek plant used to supply) is required to support the current demand.
In the meanwhile, the municipality has pledged to cart water to the affected areas using the Fire Department water tankers.
They have also appointed Stemele Bosch Africa, a consulting engineering firm to investigate the reasons and underlying factors that contribute to this situation.
Cope Member of Parliament, Mlindi Nhanha posed a question in the National Assembly to the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Sicelo Shiceka about whether he has been informed of the shortage of water in the Eastern Cape.
Shiceka replied that he had not been informed so there has been no initiative from his department to deal with the water crisis in the area.
However, the municipality has since reported that the water shortage is a result of the ongoing drought. “To deal with this situation, the municipality is engaging with the Department of Public Works who pledged to buy 10 000 L for the prison and the army base. The Eastern Cape province has received R86.8-million for drought relief of which a sum of R9.72-million will be going to the Cacadu District Municipality as a short term intervention,” the response read.
During the recent water indaba, Makana Mayor Vumile Lwana said that water restrictions were set in September last year, but failed to be enforced due to the lack of law enforcers. This would then be addressed through the reviewing of their organogram.
