The Buffalo City Metro has decided to beef up security at its critical water points and reservoirs following persistent water challenges that continued to hit several parts of the Metro and the water outages had been blamed on theft and vandalism of water infrastructure property.
Frustrated residents of Nompumelelo township in Beacon Bay recently took to the streets, blocked main roads including the busy N2 and N6 with stones and burning tyres protesting against being without a consistent supply of running water for eight months.
Responding to recent protests, BCM mayor Princess Faku spokesperson Bongani Fuzile said the protests in Nompumelelo and Ducats disrupted schooling and business operations adding that the two areas have expanded extensively due to mushrooming informal settlements.
“Nompumelelo was designed as an RDP development with a limited number of houses connected to the main pipelines. The extent of backyard dwellers and the informal settlements have resulted in the water demand being three times more than the original design,” said Fuzile.
The persistent water outages affected all three regions of the Metro including the midland, inland and coastal areas.
Some areas that have been hit hard by the shortages include Mdantsane, Buffalo Flats, Ducats, Kidds Beach, Kaysers’ Beach, Chalumna, Kwelera, Qonce, Phakamisa and several villages with many areas without water for weeks.
Fuzile said theft and vandalism of water infrastructure including pumps and pipes has led to continued water outages.
“BCM will deploy security services to our critical water points and reservoirs that supply our communities and public building including clinics and hospitals in an attempt to prevent theft and vandalism of municipal infrastructure,” said Fuzile.
He said BCM has a project aimed at resolving the Nompumelelo and Ducats water crisis which will be implemented in phases.
These include the construction of Homeleigh Reservoir, the construction of a pumped water pipeline from Beacon Bay Reservoir to the new Homeleigh reservoir.
The Metro’s bulk supplier, Amatola Water constantly experience breakdowns at its pump-stations and therefore unable to pump water from the Nahoon Wastewater Treatment Works to areas including Mdantsane, Potsdam, Fort Jackson and Nxarhuni villages.
