A breakdown occurred at the Albasini water treatment works (WTW) last Monday when the electrical motor of the main pump was said to have collapsed, leaving two small stand-by pumps to supply water to town. Mowkop reservoir in Makhado (Louis Trichardt) had dropped to below 25% by then.

The local chairperson of civil rights organization AfriForum, Mr Wally Schultz, inspected the plant on 17 June. “There was no one to be seen working on repairs at the site. The pump was not being repaired. It was there, pumping, but with squirting water out. I phoned Phophi from TLM Engineering, who does the maintenance, and she even denied that they were repairing the pump. No one knows what is going on at the plant!” said Schultz. He then phoned Ms Masuluke Mihloti, the acting municipal manager of the Vhembe District Municipality, who is responsible for the town’s water.

Vhembe spokesperson Mr Matodzi Ralushai told the Zoutpansberger that TLM Engineering was the appointed contractor and that TLM had not been on the site, since they were waiting for the spares. He refrained from commenting on Phohpi’s remark as reported by Schultz. “We have never appointed AfriForum to be a monitor,” said Ralushai. AfriForum had, however, previously obtained a court order to force Vhembe to deliver water.

The pump that broke down was acquired at a cost of R620 230 and was installed on 7 June last year. It apparently gave problems within the first month of installation. “After installation, the new pump had to be sent to the engineers. I suspect a factory fault or poor mechanical workmanship. A pump should last at least a couple of years,” said Mr David Mukosi, Vhembe’s Makhado water services manager. AfriForum asked Vhembe to honour their commitment to install a stand-by pump with the same capacity as the existing large pump. “The two smaller pumps cannot keep up with the supply to fill the reservoirs,” Schultz said.

In addition to the breaking down of the main pump, a major leak on the main Albasini pipeline saw the plant close down for repairs on 13 June. Vhembe said that they had to apply strict measures to control the water flow while repairing the leak at the farm of Mr Jan Louw.

“This is exactly what we predicted would happen over and over again as the ageing Albasini pipeline develops the inevitable leaks and the pump stations break down,” Schultz said.

Mukosi reported on 23 June that the maintenance team had repaired the pump at the Albasini plant. “Mowkop is up to the 50% mark and Bergh reservoir is 100% full,” said Mukosi. According to Vhembe, the level at Mowkop was 100% on 3 June. Its water level dropped to 70 % after the ‘load shedding’ on 11 June, to 50% after another power cut and stood at  35% before the main pump broke down and the resultant plunge to below 25%.