Somerset West residents who have been bearing the brunt of interrupted water supply due to daily load-shedding for the past few weeks descended on Louis Botha Avenue Park where they were addressed by Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on the matter on Monday (30 January).
The urgent visit comes after some households in parts of the residential area reported disrupted water supply for up to seven continuous days and low water pressure (“Outages havoc on water supply,” DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, 25 January). With seemingly no quick solution in sight, the dire situation which left residents infuriated called for a face-to-face meeting with Hill-Lewis and an entourage of representatives from various department.
“I want to start off by offering my very sincere apologies,” said Hill-Lewis, admitting that council may have not been as prepared as they has hoped for such escalation in load-shedding-induced water disruption.
“We have not responded in a way that was appropriate given how long it has taken to resolve these issues. I do, however, want to stress that the original source of the problem is the fact the water system up the mountain has not been able to cope with the long hours of load-shedding experienced.”
Despite preparedness for stage 6 and higher, Hill-Lewis divulged that adequate-sized generators and contingencies for such a situation are not in place.
Residents aired their grievances, with Rentia Robbertze from Helderberg Estate bemoaning the “horrible” situation which left them without water to drink, wash and flush toilets.
Another resident Dr Elmien Sinclair claimed the crisis has a big psychological effect on individuals and families whose dignity was left hanging in the balance.
“The community has started to pick up the pieces and has joined forces in seeking a solution,” she said. “One can definitely compare it to the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. Also if you look at Maslow’s hierarchy, access to basic human needs is key to all our achievements, health and wellness.”
Siseko Mbandezi, acting Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation, confirmed areas in Somerset West had experienced intermittent water supply disruption since power utility Eskom gave notice of stage 6 load-shedding on Tuesday 10 January.
Mbandezi explained the municipal water and sanitation infrastructure cannot effectively function under prolonged high stages of load-shedding. Therefore, the City has implemented a daily usage target of 850 million litres daily to keep reservoirs fuller for longer.
“Under high stages of load-shedding reservoirs are unable to replenish effectively, and we need residents to help us conserve water,” he added.
“This was resolved a few hours later,” Mbandezi pointed out. “However, a pressure drop on the bulk supply line on Thursday 26 January combined with high water demand caused the Smuts Avenue Reservoir to drop below critical levels. This impacted on Louis Botha, Helderberg College, Bakkerskloof and Helderspruit. The water network in the Helderberg is recovering now, and we still need residents to use less water to ensure supply while load-shedding continues at varying levels.”
Ward 85 councillor Gregory Peck confirmed the water supply had been restored. “The water is flowing. We can’t guarantee anything as we are going into higher stages of load-shedding. The problem is up at Bakkerskloof, as we don’t have a generator there and it will take another two weeks before we get one. That is going to come under strain.”
He said residents in Heldervue also experienced water issues as a result of numerous pipe bursts. “The trouble is once we replace the pipes, we need to get the air out of the system. When the air compresses in the system is causes the pipes to burst. City teams are working on it currently.”
Mbandezi added: “The directorate has sourced all available generators to ensure pumping can continue. It has also requested the feasibility of the installation of direct electrical supply to the pump stations to facilitate exemption in the longer term. Water tankers have also been provided by the directorate.”
