KAREEDOUW – Residents of Kareedouw have been battling ongoing water shortages for more than two months, with large parts of the town left without water every evening from around 17:00 until 06:00 the following morning.
According to resident Henk De Vos, water issues in the town date back to at least November 2025 and have steadily deteriorated.
He believes that the water crisis is the result of poor planning and mismanagement by the Kou-Kamma Municipality.
De Vos explained that although the municipality has access to boreholes in the Kareedouw area, they are either not operational or not being used effectively.
“The municipality claims they have insufficient pumps, but the boreholes were never properly maintained. These boreholes were meant to provide clean water to residents for at least 12 hours a day,” said De Vos.
He added that residents have held two community meetings to address the crisis, but feel their concerns are being ignored.
“People are fed up. It is summertime, it is hot, and residents need water,” said De Vos.
The worst-affected areas allegedly include Mountain View, Kagiso Heights and New Rest, where households are often left without water for days at a time.
READ MORE: Water shortages plague Kareedouw residents for days
While water tanks have been installed and water trucks are meant to supply these areas, De Vos said this support is inconsistent.
“There are times when no water trucks visit the area at all, leaving residents without any water,” said De Vos.
In the Kareedouw Central Business District (CBD), a nightly water shutdown from 17:00 to 06:00 has had a severe impact on both residents and businesses.
“There are restaurants in the CBD, as well as an OK Store with a butchery. These businesses cannot operate properly without water,” said De Vos.
He said that frustrations were also raised at a recent Community Safety Group meeting, after which representatives met with the Municipal Manager to seek clarity on the ongoing shortages.
De Vos said that during the meeting, residents shared a report compiled in 2008 by SFK Consulting Engineers and Scientists for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, titled Kareedouw Hydrogeological Investigation.
“The shocking part is that the Municipal Manager was not even aware of this document.
“The community had to supply it to the municipality,” said De Vos.
The report, which Kouga Express has seen, includes water testing at six boreholes in the Kareedouw area and provides recommendations for drought relief, which residents claim have never been implemented.
He said residents have been unable to obtain any information on the status of the boreholes or why they are not operational.
“We want to know where our money is going in terms of rates and taxes,” said De Vos.
He also pointed out that Kareedouw has two reservoirs, but only one is currently in use.
De Vos alleges that these reservoirs can be filled using water from the boreholes, but the municipality is not implementing this solution.
He said that they are therefore calling on the municipality to urgently repair and activate the boreholes to ensure a reliable water supply.
“The municipality needs to get the boreholes working so that sufficient water can be pumped to residents. People cannot continue living like this,” De Vos said.
Kou-Kamma Acting Municipal Manager, Advocate Mlamli Zenzile, confirmed that the intermittent water supply is primarily due to prolonged drought conditions, reduced rainfall, and the loss of key raw water sources.
He said that the Derdebos water source (a measuring weir) has been significantly affected by insufficient rainfall, while the Mountain View borehole has been rendered inoperable as a result of vandalism and theft of infrastructure.
“To prevent complete system failure, the municipality has implemented controlled water supply measures to stabilise reservoir levels.
“Emergency interventions, including water carting and the placement of JoJo tanks, are being deployed in affected areas, particularly in elevated sections of New Rest.
“In Mountain View, water carting is provided when shortages occur to ensure residents have access to potable water,” said Zenzile.
Commenting on the groundwater infrastructure, he said that the municipality has five boreholes in the Driekrone area, of which only one is currently operational.
Zenzile said that the remaining boreholes, drilled in 2008, were never fully commissioned and require installation and integration into the bulk supply system.
He further said that one borehole in Mountain View has been vandalised, while two boreholes located behind the municipal building are operational but yield insufficient volumes to meet demand.
Zenzile said that Kareedouw has two reservoirs; however, one reservoir is currently offline due to a structural leak beneath the structure, which results in unacceptable water losses.
He said that repairs will be undertaken once funding becomes available.
“The estimated cost to fully restore boreholes and related infrastructure is approximately R5 million. The municipality has submitted applications for drought relief and water infrastructure funding to the relevant district, provincial, and national departments and is currently awaiting outcomes,” said Zenzile.
He further said that the municipality disputes claims of mismanagement and notes that the current challenges are consistent with drought-related impacts affecting many municipalities nationally.
“The municipality remains committed to improving water security through long-term planning, infrastructure rehabilitation, and transparent engagement,” said Zenzile.
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