Disaster relief organisation Gift of the Givers came to the rescue on Tuesday as Komani went seven days without water due to extremely low levels at the Waterdown Dam.
Local businesses have been hit hard resulting in some shutting their doors. KFC outlets, Steers and Shell are some of the businesses that have shut their doors, losing out on revenue.
At Nonesi Mall, the most affected aspect was staff and public toilets and management had to rent out expensive mobile toilets, said centre manager Yolanda Moss.
“We had to cater for our tenants and provide toilets to sort out the issue. Yesterday we arranged for a truck to deliver water for staff and tenants.”
The water outages, which started last Thursday and affected all residential areas in Komani, were due to Waterdown reaching a critical 29%, resulting in McEwans pump station tripping as it usually does when the water pressure drops.
This week, residents were either seen carrying a number of containers heading to a communal place to fetch water or standing in snaking queues waiting for their turn in the scorching sun. Some schools were closed to avoid any problems that may occur as a result of the water issue.
Much to the residents’ relief CHDM announced on Tuesday morning that the disaster relief NPO, Gift of the Givers, would assist by providing water to residents, following talks between the mayor, Wongama Gela, and minister of water and sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu.
“I spoke to the minister on Monday informing her of our situation. She took a decision almost immediately which led to Gift of the Givers being here today. The focus was in Komani, particularly Ezibeleni and Mlungisi, after we asked ward councillors to advise us about where the need for water was most urgent. We currently have eight trucks servicing Komani and surroundings, distributing water.
“We have been extracting water from Cradock and other far-away areas with our trucks, which limited the number of times they had to go back for more water due to the distance. However, we have been communicating with residents on a daily basis through various platforms, updating them about the water crisis,” said the mayor.
In addition to the temporary relief by the NPO, the district municipality commissioned the drilling of boreholes to alleviate the water shortages.
Gift of the Givers project manager Ali Sablay said they brought their water tankers carrying 7 500 litres of water and five litre bottles of water to give to residents.
“We received a call from the mayor who was concerned about residents not having water for almost a week. We were supposed to go to Bedford, but he asked us to come and assist because the situation was dire. We dispatched a team to provide clean drinking water and our water tankers carrying 7 500 litres of water and 22 pallets multiplied by 144 five litre bottles. However this problem needs a long-term solution and minister Sisulu wants us to drill permanent boreholes in municipal areas because water shortage is a countrywide problem.”
While water was being distributed to people in long queues in Ezibeleni and Mlungisi, Gift of the Givers staff had to stop for a while, due to chaos caused by people who wanted more water bottles than were offered per person. After the situation calmed down, people continued to receive water.
On the other hand, Komani residents with boreholes opened their yards and shared water with anyone who needed it for consumption. Some homes even had signs to indicate they were open for free water.
A Westbourne resident who did not want to be named pumped more than 20 000 litres of water from his borehole to share with the residents of the area and was also seen sharing with Rhawutini informal settlement residents over the weekend.
Councillor Mncedisi Mbengo also worked with a local business to share water with Newvale and Khayelitsha residents.
Ezibeleni resident Nolubabalo Yantolo said the need for water was ongoing in the area and she was happy that everyone was affected so that the municipality would do something about it.
“We have water cuts almost every day and sometimes we do not have water for a week. I am laughing at everyone who is experiencing this for the first time, thinking they are going to die. We got over ourselves and the municipality which ignores us every time we complain about the water situation.”
Mlungisi resident Vuyolwethu Bomela said he was sick and tired of everything that was happening in Komani because in his area they did not have either water or electricity, which made it difficult to get ready for work and school.
Another resident from Ezibeleni who did not want to be named said a water truck bearing the district municipality’s logo was seen selling water for R20 a litre in the area.
CHDM spokeswoman Thobeka Mqamelo said the department of water and sanitation had arranged for a 48 hour shutdown last Friday to Sunday due to the low water levels at the dam.
“The move followed a recent attempt in which the department was on site to open the sleeve valve to increase the flow rate to Komani.”
On Saturday, Mqamelo reported that the maintenance team to work at the Waterdown Dam had arrived late and the valve was closed in the morning to start repairs.
“The team reported the hydraulic piston of the lowest outlet valve had failed, was leaking oil and was not operational. They were to replace the piston which may take up to three days. During this period Komani would only receive 40 litres per second of water. This inflow was too low for the booster pumps to start. The 40 litres per second is a significant drop from the normal 235 litres.”
The Waterdown Dam level was recorded at 29.9% on Saturday and its depth 14.14m which meant it was dropping at a rate of 20mm a day.
Mqamelo said progress was being made with the repairs at the dam and that valve C had been opened. She said they were awaiting a diver to open valve B to maximise relief.
On Wednesday, some residential areas including Westbourne and some parts of Mlungisi had low pressure, but discoloured water coming from taps.
Local businesses have also been hit by the water outages, resulting in some having to close their doors. All KFC outlets and Steers had closed their doors, losing out on revenue, while the owner of Shell Ultra City reportedly said he was struggling to remain open.
The biggest mall in the region, Nonesi Mall, has also been affected but is still open for business. Centre manager Yolanda Moss said the most affected aspect of the mall was the toilets and they had had to rent mobile toilets which were expensive.
“We had to cater for our tenants and provide mobile toilets to sort out the issue. Yesterday we arranged for a truck to deliver water for staff and tenants.”