A poorly maintained water supply system from the Albasini Dam gave birth to four very oddly placed waterfalls along the Levubu Road over the weekend.

Following up on the story, the Zoutpansberger discovered the four mini waterfalls upon arrival. Further investigation revealed an uncovered maintenance hole with water gushing out freely.

While inspecting the source of the water, a government official also arrived at the scene to inspect the situation. Mr Mbulaheni Mamidza, manager for traditional leadership and governance at the Thohoyandou town council, was on his way to a funeral at Sibasa when he too noticed the out-of-place waterfalls feeding into the road. Mr Mamidza took one look, walked back to his vehicle and immediately headed back to town.

The Zoutpansberger followed Mr Mamidza on his crusade to report the problem to the local authorities. He went to the local municipality where he was referred to the fire station. The fire station in turn referred him to the testing grounds, where he had to report the problem to disaster management. Here, news came that the matter had already been reported earlier that morning, but that the problem could not be fixed because of the rain.

Mr Masindi Mapholi, Council’s Director: Technical Services, responded to the matter by stating that water problems are no longer the responsibility of Council, but that of the Vhembe District Municipality. He said, however, that Council still handles such complaints in cases of emergency.

Mr Mapholi said that the main water supply pipeline to town is failing and will need to be replaced as soon as possible. He said the Makhado Municipality and the Vhembe District Municipality are at present planning for a new reservoir and a new water supply system. The project will be competed at an estimated cost of about R105 million. This amount needs to be budgeted for in the forthcoming financial year.

Mr Mapholi encourages residents to report leaking pipelines. The 24-hour number for fault reporting is (015) 519 3000. Water is one of the most important and basic needs of all residents. In this regard, Mr Mapholi reminded residents that water restrictions are still in place.