NZHELELE – Communities in rural areas are facing disaster, due to the serious shortage of water for people and livestock as a result of the continuous drought.

The Nzhelele River is running dry at an alarming rate. The perennial river, in the Nzhelele Valley some 50 kilometres south of Makhado (Louis Trichardt), had left the community of Tshavhalovhedzi without a reliable source of water, as they depend on the Nzhelele regional water scheme.

Nzhelele regional water scheme draws water from a weir at Khalavha Village via gravity main to supply Siloam Hospital, the former Makhado as well as other villages in the Nzhelele Valley.

The flow of water in the river has deteriorated to an extent that there is no more overflow at the weir. The little water available is insufficient for the demand of the 52 villages in the valley.

There are three hand pumps, which the people of Tshvhalovhedzi can access in order to supplement the current situation, and the provincial Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is at present investigating the possibility of equipping the existing two boreholes in the area. The department is also investigating the possibility of additional water sources on the upper Nzhelele weir, as well as drilling and equipping eight additional boreholes with the aid of the current drought relief fund.

The Limpopo Province, as one of the provinces suffering the most, received a R32, 924 million relief fund. The relief fund was distributed in all six municipalities, namely Capricorn (R5, 376 million), Mopani (R4, 812 million), Waterberg (R3, 588 million), Bohlebela (R5, 655 million), Sekhukhune (R5, 588 million) and Vhembe (R8, 416 million).

Tshavhalovhedzi and other severely affected villages will benefit from these funds, as they fall under the Vhembe District Municipality.