Steynsburg's had no water for eight months

The town, with a population of just over 160,500, started to run out of water just over two and a half years ago. Two large water pumps that supply the town from the Vals River fell into disrepair and the local municipality did not have the money to fix them.

"They put a single, smaller pump in their place. That had capacity to supply about 20% of the town's needs," said Sidney Pittaway, a director of the Kroonstad Business Chamber.

Pittaway helped the municipality gain access to funds at the Kroonstad District Municipality to install new pumps in the river. The project is completed, but the Vals is currently dry and residents have to wait for rain.

"We have all the hardware in place and are waiting for the rainy season. If rains come, we will have the best water in the region," said Pittaway.

However, what was supposed to be a project taking no more than three months to complete took two-and-a-half years to do.

"There was no co-ordination between departments," said Pittaway. "The Department of Water Affairs built a dam, but didn't care where the water would come from to fill it," he added.

Eight months ago, the town started trucking in water, bringing in 50,000 litres a day at a cost of R800,000 a month.

"It was extremely expensive water," said Pittaway.

Richard Holden, business analyst at the parastatal Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority, said people don't understand what is behind the opening of a tap: "If you don't maintain the infrastructure, it costs more later. The big thing is vacancies. If you don't generate income, you won't attract skilled people, so you don't maintain infrastructure. This leads to breakdowns and water losses," Holden said.

Source: The Times via I-Net Bridge