A water crisis has hit parts of Emfuleni local municipality, leaving residents in despair.
Residents in Sebokeng, Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Evaton, Lakeside, Palm Springs and Lakeside are angry and frustrated that their taps have run dry.
In November, the municipality owed Rand Water R400million.
Though Sebokeng, Evaton and Palm Springs have had a persistent water problem for months, the cut-off has lasted four days now, having started on Friday afternoon.
When The Star visited the areas on Monday, people were seen with buckets on their heads while others pushed wheelbarrows filled with water containers. Children carried smaller containers.
Sebokeng resident and Mahlakeng carwash owner Kgosi Molefe said they had experienced water cuts since February last year.
“The supply is cut off without notice. The cut-off is usually for a few hours and would be restored late in the evening. In November we had no water supply for four days. Water supply would be off during the day and would be restored at about 11pm or sometimes around midnight.
“In December we experienced the same problem, but this time it was far worse. Sometimes we go without water for two weeks in the area,” Molefe said.
He added that the water crisis was bad for business.
“At times I have to turn away customers because there is no water. The carwash has about six employees, while there are two employees who sell fast food.
“We lose up to 10 cars a day. Our customers are not happy, but there is nothing we can do,” Molefe said.
In Evaton North, Blessing Sondae, 20, said she had woken up at 1am to draw water from the tap when the supply was restored.
“This has been happening since Friday. Sometimes there is no supply all day and night and we have to walk to Orange Farm to get water. I have been waiting to do laundry for two weeks, and it has piled up.
“My sister has a one-month-old baby and she does not want breast milk, so we have to make a bottle. We have been struggling for several months and do not know who to turn to. The situation is unhygienic and the toilet is dirty,” Sondae said.
Along the Golden Highway lies debris from two recent protests in Palm Springs and Sebokeng, when residents demonstrated over the lack of water.
In Palm Springs, residents were seen drawing water from a pipe near the road.
“This has become our life. We wake up in the morning to come here and draw water. We are forced to live like this,” said a resident who claimed that she paid R300 towards rates.
Residents said they took to the streets in protest because they were frustrated about the water situation.
At Roshnee Old Age Home, 62-year-old Shana Ibrahim was equally frustrated. She cares for her quadriplegic mother.
“I have to live with my mother lying in human faeces for hours because of this. It is not right. I need at least 100 litres of water to bathe her and do laundry a day,” Ibrahim said.
Another resident, Nasera Ayob, said they would have to make a decision whether to stop paying for services they were not getting. “This has got to stop. This (the home) is the one place where people need water,” Ayob said.
Residents said they paid between R2000 and R3000 for water each month.
The Emfuleni municipality acknowledged that "some taps have almost gone dry”.
“The mostly affected areas since Friday, January5 were Evaton, Evaton West, Evaton North, Lakeside, Sebokeng, and now recently Roshnee and Vanderbijlpark. The intermittent water supply was caused mainly by the inability of the municipality to service its old debt plus paying the current account to Rand Water.
“However, in December the municipality and Rand Water reached an agreement to reduce water supply to Emfuleni in a bid to manage its current account. It should be noted that its current account has doubled from R41million to R83m a month,” said municipal spokesperson Stanley Gaba.
The municipality had paid R14m to reduce its debt to Rand Water, he added.
“The reduction of the bulk supply per month means pressure has been reduced significantly in many areas. However, provision has been made to deliver water to the affected areas through tankers during the day.
“Hospitals and schools have been supplied with JoJo tanks to avoid any shortage of water,” Gaba said.
The Star team did not see water tanks in any of the six areas visited yesterday.
@smashaba