THE Strelitzia Dam, once a vital source of irrigation for several schools, parks, and the local golf course, has now run dry, triggering significant concern among the residents of Ward 51.
Frustrated by the consequences of the dam’s depletion, residents have sought urgent intervention from their Councillor, Roelf Basson.
Responding to numerous complaints and the growing anxiety within the community, Basson, along with Horatio Hendricks, a Member of the Provincial Legislature for the Democratic Alliance, conducted an oversight visit to the dam in Kariega.
This visit focused on Ward 51, where pressing concerns have emerged, particularly from neighbouring schools that are unable to access water for irrigating their sports fields.
Speaking to UD Express, Hendricks said, “Coming from a drought in the Metro, we do not want schools to irrigate their sports fields with potable water as that would be wasteful. For a number of years, schools have been using grey water to irrigate their fields, supplied by the municipality.”
He added that the schools were allegedly paying for this discarded water at a lesser cost than they would have paid for potable water.
However, now, they are not receiving the water.
“This has negatively affected the school fields, as it seems there are allegedly a number of parents pulling their children out of schools in Kariega to schools in Gqeberha because facilities here are regressing,” Hendricks said.
“In terms of need and consumption, grey water would normally end up in a river or ocean, but that water can be redirected to upgrade facilities in need, like parks, sports fields, and the local golf course.
That water can be procured at a lesser tariff, which would be beneficial for the municipality,” he said.
He added that considering the seven-year water drought the Metro has been experiencing, a solution for reusing water effectively needs to be considered, and grey water is the perfect solution to mitigate the use of potable water.
The Municipality was approached numerous times for a response to this pressing issue, but no feedback was received at the time of going to press.
