PORT ELIZABETH - TAPS ARE RUNNING DRY ACROSS LORRAINE, KABEGA & ROWELLAN PARK & KWANOBUHLE

Taps are running dry in many of Port Elizabeth’s western suburbs and Uitenhage’s KwaNobuhle, just as the Nelson Mandela Bay council approved new water restrictions with punitive tariffs yesterday.

The municipality said parts of the western areas – which included Lorraine, Kabega and Rowallan Park – in addition to KwaNobuhle, were out of drinking water as a result of demand on the system which was rapidly depleting both the Kouga and Loerie dams, with the Loerie Dam also emptying fast.

Metro spokesman Mthubanzi Mniki said yesterday they were already getting calls from residents in high-lying areas, saying they were out of water.

“Those who have water now can expect it to be off any time,” he said.

Mniki said they were redirecting water from other sources.

“If there is no water for four hours in an area, we will send our [water] trucks [there],” he said. “Residents are encouraged to call the customer care line if they are without water.”

Mniki said all non-essential water use must be stopped immediately.

“Residents are requested to use water to drink, cook, wash in their basins and only to flush toilets when absolutely necessary,” he said.

“No household should use more than 250 litres of water a day right now.”

Meanwhile, infrastructure, engineering and electricity political head Annette Lovemore recommended to the council yesterday to approve Part B of the water restrictions with punitive tariffs. Lovemore told councillors the city was in crisis as the Chelsea reservoir was empty while others were at 30%.

“We are in crisis, we do not have a choice here,” she said.

“To highlight how big a crisis we are facing, what we are trying to do is bring water from other reservoirs. It is not going to be an easy task.

“Frankly, not going forward with restrictions, we will have our taps running dry.”

But even as she spoke, residents in the western suburbs were holding their breath, waiting for their taps to run dry.

Hairdresser Cecile Strydom, 42, at her business attached to her Sherwood home, said: “I have been waiting for the water to run out all day and, until it does, I will keep going.

“This is my livelihood after all. If I can’t wash hair, I can’t do business.”

Kabega retiree Anton van Niekerk, 72, said he would keep going on as usual. “I live alone and use very little water,” he said. “My kids come to visit but they do little more than drink coffee, so I doubt my water usage puts too much strain on the reservoir.”

David Arnold, a 34-year-old mechanic who works from his Rowallan Park home, said having no water would probably not affect his business, but it would be a major inconvenience.

“I would like to know where this problem comes from all of a sudden,” he said.

“How long has the municipality known the reservoir is running low?

“Unless I just missed it, why were we not notified earlier?”

Accountant Debbie Fredericks, 37, of Lorraine, said raising children without water would be near impossible.

“I’m usually at work during the day, but my son is sick so I stayed home with him [yesterday],” she said.

“How would I make him food, or run him a bath, or wash his clothes if there was suddenly no water?”

She said they still had water yesterday but had heard of other people running out and expected their taps to run dry during the evening.

“My husband and my other son will come home and I hope everyone will be able to take a shower before the water runs out.

“Then we will probably have to go buy water,” Fredericks said. Yesterday’s council meeting also saw a standoff between the DA-led coalition and the ANC as councillors debated the imposition of the next phase of water restrictions.

The ANC accused the DA-led coalition of taking shortcuts by imposing restrictions without looking at a broader solution.

The restrictions follow a scathing letter from Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane’s office last month, which instructed the city to cut back its water usage or face forced cuts.

ANC councillor Andile Mfunda objected to the restrictions, accusing the metro of ignoring previous plans by the city to save water.

“The first thing the mayor [Athol Trollip] did was to jump to the media saying we will impose restrictions, without a council resolution.

“Give poor people a break – water is a serious matter,” Mfunda said.

He said the city had faced a drought in 2010 and a plan had been drafted to deal with water shortages.

“Some of you were not here when there was a drought, even the mayor was not here,” Mfunda said.

“Council approved the water master plan. This leadership must interrogate it before you jump to water restrictions. “You are taking shortcuts. “You need a broad vision, you promised to address water leaks. Where is your 100 days, Athol?”

Lovemore said the city was making strides in cutting back on water losses and would continue.

“We are receiving about 3 000 complaints on water leaks a month,” she said.

“The turnaround time is 15 to 24 days. We want to cut it to less than five days.”

The council approved Lovemore’s recommendation to impose punitive water restrictions.

VIA - heraldlive.co.za