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The Department of Water and Sanitation will tomorrow 26 May 2016 send in 20 more water tankering trucks to assist the situation within the Moqhaka Local Municipality. These trucks will assist to tanker water in Kroonstad, Viljoenskroon and Steynsrus.

Moqhaka has been plagued by a severe drought in recent months. The water levels in the Vals River have diminished due to a lack of rain, thus the water supply shortages in the area. The municipality has been providing water through 4 water tankers supplied by DWS. These supplied water from boreholes to strategically placed Jojo tanks.

The department will tomorrow contribute an additional 20 mobile water tankers with a capacity of 18 000 liters each, in order to assist the municipality.

Moqhaka is also set to benefit through the work of the Joint Operation Centre (JOC) formed in Moqhaka consisting of public and private establishments such as DWS, Rand Water, Capitec Bank, Concerned Business People of Kroonstad, and CC Chickens. Work around Geohydrology studies for ground water, refurbishing existing boreholes and drilling for new ones is already underway.

The private companies that attended the JOC have pledged to come up with ways in which they can assist, be it in the form of donating water or drilling of boreholes. Some members who have boreholes have pledged to donate this water to be tankered to the Jojo tanks; however the water will have to be tested for quality by Rand Water first.

The department, in conjunction with the municipality, is requesting all members of the public to use water sparingly and to make sure the containers they use to collect water from Jojo tanks are cleaned properly to prohibit the stem of water-borne diseases.

Issued by Department of Water and Sanitation