The pump station in Zolani, Ashton has been out of order since before the weekend.
This has affected the water pressure and reservoir levels in the area.
The Langeberg Municipality posted a notice of the problem on its official Facebook Page early on Saturday. “Residents in Zolani are urged to please use water extremely sparingly for the next few days due to the vandalism of the Zolani pump station,” it says.
“The pump station is not operational, and the reservoir levels are running critically low. We are attending to the situation.”
A few hours later the municipality alerted the community that reservoir levels were dropping rapidly.
“Reservoir levels in Zolani have dropped from 50% to 30% in the past five hours. Zolani residents are urged please to reduce water use. Use water extremely sparingly for the next few days. Due to vandalism the Zolani pump station is not operational, and the reservoir levels are running critically low.”
Standard & Gazette reached out to the municipality and enquired about the kind of vandalism they were referring to.
“On the evening of 19 October the pump station in Zolani was vandalised, resulting in no power to the pump station,” Daniël Lubbe, Langeberg Municipal Manager, explained. “The fencing, all the electrical cables and electrical equipment in the electrical panels were stolen.
Emergency repairs were executed so water could be pumped to the reservoir. The final cost for repairing the damage caused by the vandals had not been finalised yet. Only then can permanent repairs be done.
Lubbe noted these kinds of damages created major unforeseen expenses for the municipality.
“An increase in municipal infrastructure damage results in major unforeseen expenses that strain the municipal infrastructure, equipment and capacity. We encourage residents to report service delivery issues and vandalism of municipal property.”
These issues can be reported to the Langeberg Municipality’s 24/7 call centre on 0860 88 1111 or info@langeberg.gov.za, or via WhatsApp on 065 211 7822.
