Warning over water ‘day zero’ hitting another province in South Africa

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has warned that the water crisis in the Free State is putting the province on the brink of its own ‘day zero’ – a day when taps in the region run dry.

Conducting an oversight visit in the province, the opposition party said that the reality of the taps running completely dry poses an immediate threat to residents in the region.

“Not a single municipality in this province is able to supply regular and uninterrupted safe water to residents. With the ongoing water interruptions and poor water quality, many residents are forced to walk for kilometres to get potable water,” it said.

Some residents have been without regular water for seven years, the party said, adding that financial mismanagement at municipalities and an inability to make payments to service providers have made the situation untenable.

In some municipalities where boreholes are available, even these are in “an advanced state of decay”, it said.

“While the province’s dams and rivers are full due to a good rain season, many residents’ taps remain empty. Day Zero is just one dysfunctional pump station, an inept official, ANC factional sabotage or ageing infrastructure away for many residents,” it said.

“Many paying residents have water disrupted due to non-payment to the Water Board by financially mismanaged municipalities. At the same time, existing freshwater resources are polluted by dysfunctional sewerage systems.”

The party has accused ANC officials of abusing the situation, fuelling ‘lucrative water tanker businesses’ that carry water to these municipalities at a huge cost to taxpayers.

The Free State is beset by service delivery failures and has been identified by ratings firm, RatingsAfrika, as one of the worst-run municipal regions in the country.

Residents in the province have previously threatened legal action against the national government for failing to deliver services. Businesses in the area want the country’s courts to allow the private sector to deliver services that local municipalities cannot.

Certain towns and cities say they receive almost no municipal services and suffer:

• Regular water shortages;
• No refuse removal;
• A dysfunctional sewage system;
• Potholes;
• The municipality has not sent any municipal accounts for several years.

Eastern Cape crisis

Water and Sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu, meanwhile, has intervened to resolve water challenges in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM).

Mchunu held an engagement with Amatola Water Board, business sector, municipal and provincial leadership in Gqeberha on Friday (3 June), with the aim of reducing the effect of severe drought, resolve water availability challenges and avert imminent failure of the system in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Water levels in the municipality are currently at an all-time low, with one of the dams, Kouga, at 13% this week.

Mchunu said this is a clear manifestation of climate change, resulting in a shortage of rainfall for a period of approximately seven years.

The NMBMM has been on the brink of a ‘day zero’ eventuality for some time, with many analysts warning that taps would run dry in late May/early June.

South Africa is a water-scarce country, with most provinces running the risk of running out of water due to shortages, drought, poor infrastructure, mismanagement and polluted water sources.

Read: Government to step in as one of South Africa’s biggest cities runs out of water