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It seems Emfuleni’s water authority, Metsi a Lekoa,  is unaware of the looming water crisis in our country in light of the fact that they show little interest in repairing water leakages in the municipality, including Sonlandpark, Ward 45.

In Goddard Street (Photo), a water leak has been reported for the past 30 days but has still not been repaired.

After the complaint was escalated by the DA to MMC for Infrastructure, Water, Electricity and Sanitation in Merafong municipality, Nonvula Thulo,  an assistant manager at Metsi a Lekoa got back to us but simply requested that water leakages should be reported via their call center in future and not the foreman at the water authority, which is who we originally reported the leak in Sonlandpark to.

This response means that the authority has still failed to repair the water leak to date.

Subsequent follow ups with Metsi a Lekoa has revealed that the authority does not have the material they need to prepare the valve causing the water leak. 

This leak has led to the road crumbling due to the permanent flow of water, which Emfuleni municipality can also not afford to repair as it already is facing a backlog in repairing potholes in the area.

The result is that residents' water pressure is getting weaker and clean drinking water is being lost on a daily basis despite the water shortages we face in the municipality. 

This problem is not confined to Ward 45 and it is critical that something is done to resolve this serious situation.

I will therefore be escalating this matter to the Emfuleni Mayor, Ms N G Hlongwane and Municipal Manager, Mr Sam Shabalala for their urgent attention and action.

The DA Run City of Cape Town has implemented a range of measures to ensure all residents receive clean drinking water and water losses are minimised in the metro municipality.

Some of these measures include:

·         Implementing an innovative water pressure management system to reduce water leakages;
·         Identifying and repairing underground water leaks promptly;
·         Replacing ageing water mains;
·         Improving response times when it comes to repairing burst water pipes;
·         Promoting the use of treated effluent or borehole water instead of drinking water for irrigation purposes;
·         Offering plumbing repairs for indigent households free of charge;
·         Introducing the stepped tariffs system of billing (what is this?)
·         Focusing on educating residents about water saving.

The result is that the City of Cape Town has the lowest level of water losses out of all the South African metros.

A DA run Emfuleni council will implement similar measures to ensure water infrastructure is properly maintained and repaired so that precious drinking water is not wasted in our communities.

Issued by DA