A notice has been issued to all Aberdeen residents from the Camdeboo Municipality on behalf of Mr Monde Longbooi with regard to the usage of water. The municipality is struggling to meet the high water demand, and all residents are requested to use water sparingly.
The following water usage is now prohibited in Aberdeen between the hours of 06H00 and 16H00 until further notice:-
1. The watering of gardens using a hose pipe or using tap water during the above period.
2. The refilling and filling of swimming pools.
3. The washing of cars using a hose pipe or using tap water.
*Action will be taken against consumers who do not respond to the above water restrictions.
The above decision has been taken by Mr Longbooi after nearly two weeks of little or no water pressure in Aberdeen, resulting in little more than a trickle of water or no water at all from household taps during the day. The Municipality, under the direction of Mr Clive Kombani, is urgently investigating more reliable resources of water delivery to Aberdeen, Lotusville and Thembalisizwe, but this exercise if it proves successful, will not occur immediately.
Residents are therefore requested not to drain the water facilities by over usage of water after the stipulated prohibited hours of 06H00 the 16H00. The water situation will not resolve itself if residents do this, and it will defeat the entire object of using water sparingly during the prohibited times.
On the 14th October this year, an urgent meeting was held in Aberdeen to form a ‘Lead Water Working Committee’ to preserve the source of water which feeds the town’s ‘Lei Water’ system. At that time, Ward 1 Member of the Ward Committee Mr Nikolas Jankovich-Besan told 20 concerned residents who attended the meeting, that of the ‘four eyes’ which are the source of the water, only three were operational. He also said that the Fonteinbos Dam which is the Aberdeen water source, was three quarters full of silt, and that the channels through which the ‘Lei Water’ runs is usually full of rubbish, also that storm water cannot be properly channeled through the town.
The water delivery to Aberdeen has now obviously reached a critical stage, due to the drought and the level of the water table dropping.
The Lead Water Working Committee met on October 21st to form a ‘working document’, and concerned residents are hopeful that within this document solutions have been formulated by the committee to assist the Municipality in stabilizing the output of water to Aberdeen, Lotusville and Thembalisizwe.
The water shortage should not only be the concern of the few residents who attended the meeting called by Mr Jankovich and of the Municipality, but of all residents of Aberdeen, Lotusville and Thembalisizwe. There are ways to save water, and hopefully all households will constructively implement ways to do this.
Article By: Joan Tinker