“What about the times when the water meters are running in reverse?” This counter question was asked by the Makhado Municipality when Louis Trichardt ratepayers once again raised the matter of paying for air instead of water.

Many households, especially in the area east of the N1, have had their water supply connected and disconnected twice a day for years now. When the water is reconnected, the water meters run like lightning and register the air as water to be paid for.

“They will speak when water is restored and air is pushed into the pipes, but they won’t speak when the water is shut down. Because when the water is shut down, the meter reverses … We only speak of the 50 times when air is getting out of the pipe, but we don’t speak of the 50 times when air is sucked into the pipe,” the director of technical services, Mr Thivho Ralulimi, said on June 1 at a meeting between the Municipal Manager, Council directors and the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association (SRPA).

“Yes, they do, the meters can run in reverse,” Ralulimi said. The implication of the meters´ running in reverse is that the meter will register less water and the resident will pay less.

On the issue of paying for air, Ralulimi said that there was unfortunately no way that the municipality could separate water and air.

“The other unfortunate part of it is that at the moment we are facing the challenge that we are not able to supply water 24 hours per day,” Ralulimi said.

He offered the replacement of all water meters with prepaid water meters as a solution.

“We have been made to understand by the manufacturer of the prepaid meters that there is no way that it will read air. With the convertible meter it will, but with the prepaid meter it won’t,” Ralulimi said. The prepaid meters will be for the cost of the resident.

In the meantime, a qualified plumber with more than 20 years of experience has observed the effects of the air suctioned out of the pipes when water is disconnected and air pushed into pipes when water is connected.

“When air is suctioned out, the air in the geyser of the house is also suctioned out and the element of the geyser burns out. I had instances where I installed a new element in a geyser and the element blew within one week, due to the suctioning out of air. The next week I had to install a new element again,” said Mr Johan van Dyk on June 3.

Van Dyk said that the water meter of some types of meters can run in reverse, but that the run in reverse and the forward run do not cancel each other. In a certain case, at a house situated in a high-lying area, the meter did run both ways. After he had installed equipment to counter the reverse run and forward run, the water account lowered considerably, showing that the meters do not run forward and in reverse in an equal measure. The forward run of the meter by far outweighed the reverse run, with the result that residents do pay a lot for air in the pipes.

“The latest water meters on the market have a non-return valve inside and never run in reverse,” Van Dyk said.

Not only is it dangerous for the burnout of the geyser when air is sucked out of the pipes, but there is also the danger of damage to valves in the system when air is pushed into the pipes when the water is reconnected. “That can happen when the pipes shake violently and the water comes out of the tap with great force,” Van Dyk said. That is a regular experience of residents whose water gets disconnected.

No wonder the completion of the second reservoir at Mowcop is of concern to the residents. The contractor was fired due to non-compliance with the correct specifications of a reservoir, and he made a court case against the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM).

Ralulimi reported at the meeting on June 1 that VDM is “going to readvertise to get a new contractor to complete the reservoir … Just cross our fingers … maybe we won’t see a court interdict to stop the district municipality to engage a new contractor,” Ralulimi said.