“We have had so much rain over the past few days but our taps continue to run dry.”
CITY residents have been urged to use water sparingly as the nightly supply interruptions will continue until the levels at Newton Reservoir have been stabilised.
This is after another cable fault was reportedly experienced at the Riverton purification plant, affecting the ability to pump water to the city on Thursday.
Sol Plaatje Municipality has assured residents that the affected cable is currently being replaced.
The work in process is expected to have a negative impact on the storage levels at Newtown Reservoir.
“Newton Reservoir is currently switched off and will resume once we start pumping from Riverton,” a Sol Plaatje Municipality notice stated.
Meanwhile, residents in David Harris Avenue in Cassandra are experiencing a third heavy water leak in a matter of just a few weeks.
One resident pointed out that water flows from the burst pipes are so strong that they have uprooted a tree and a light pole.
No one from Sol Plaatje Municipality was available for comment yesterday as to when the problem will be resolved.
Most businesses and establishments in the CBD, including the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital, have also reported experiencing water challenges.
The Northern Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nocci) in Kimberley has called on the municipality to reveal its contingency plan after the local authority set up a new reservoir at Riverton.
The CEO of Nocci, Sharon Steyn, said that they have been asking the municipality to produce its back-up plan for these water challenges for days now, but nothing has been done.
“This is ridiculous. Businesses and residents are fed up. We are in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, where many businesses were financially affected, and now they have to send their staff home early due to the water cuts,” Steyn said yesterday.
“We have had so much rain over the past few days but our taps continue to run dry.”
Steyn accused the municipality of having a poor maintenance strategy, pointing out that burst and leaking pipes are not fixed, while thousands of litres of water runs down the city’s streets.
“I was very disappointed when I found water running down the pavement at the Sol Plaatje Municipality,” she said.
