By: Vuyolwethu Nzolongwane
Residents were left despondent following the Executive Mayor’s message on Thursday, January 27 regarding the city’s water quality.
In his statement, the Executive Mayor, Councillor Xola Pakati pointed out that the city’s current water crises were due to the storm and flooding that occurred on January 8.
The city has put in place a plan to better its water quality by introducing indefinite water shedding from 10 pm to 4 am.
“As the political leadership of the institution we will be monitoring the water challenge daily and we will give regular updates to the residents of the affected areas until the water distribution system is to the requisite standard,” said Pakati.
Water tanks have been stationed in different parts of Buffalo City until the Umzonyana Water Supply System is recovered.
Some residents have been sitting with dry taps since January 17 and those who can afford to, have been buying water to have clean drinking water.
“Before the two water tanks were put up, the water truck would come every second day and we would fill up some bottles to have water to flush, bathe and do household chores with, then we would buy water to drink. We are now sitting with blocked toilets as there isn’t a constant flow of water and although the tanks are situated in a central place, the distance is quite long so we then need to travel by car to get enough water for our family,” said Vergenoeg resident, Kylie Paramore.
Other residents have shown no interest in using the water for anything other than flushing for fear of contaminating their homes or catching a sickness from the water.
“I have had to go out and buy 5-litre water bottles and it is costing me money and time that I don’t have. I do not trust the tap water to drink or to give to my pets even, I could have sick animals. I cannot wash my hands or bath in such dirt as it feels like I am bathing in sewage. Dishes are not washed because you also can’t wash things you eat off from that water. You cannot use that water for anything but flushing toilets. Yet we must still pay municipal fees,” said Cambridge resident, Wendy Committee.
Although there has been advice shared on how to treat the water before consumption, the circulating rumours and social media posts have not aided in putting residents’ minds at ease.
“I normally boil my water as a precaution before drinking it but because of all the posts making the rounds on social media that the water has been contaminated with sewage, I was hesitant to even do that and as such, I resorted to buying bottled water from our local spaza shop as a short term solution but I am still using the tap water to flush and bathe,” said Scenery Park resident, Nontsikelelo Lento.
Some residents depend solely on their running taps for water and whatever money can be spared goes towards necessities such as groceries. East Bank residents who requested to be anonymous said that they have had no choice but to drink the water and take some precautions such as boiling and diluting the water with bleach to be able to drink the water.
“I don’t have money to buy bottles of water or even refill my 5-litre bottle at the nearest purified water distributor because every last cent that I have goes towards feeding my family and it is unfortunate that we have to drink unsafe water but it’s not like we have much of a choice,” said Anonymous.