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On Monday, the crucial railway pump station was found open and unattended. The municipality’s answer to the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association was that contractors were busy in the area. It is unclear why nobody could be seen in the area. Pictured here is Ms Marie Helm, a co-opted member of the SPRA executive committee.
Municipality explains what went wrong
News Date: 25 March 2011
The Makhado Municipality issued a media release to explain why the town and surrounding areas had no water supply for prolonged periods this month. The Albasini Water Scheme currently cannot handle the demand and water is supplied to a wider area by the town’s boreholes. Any problem occurring at the pump stations receiving water from the boreholes is critical.
“The electric motor and starter at the railway pump station burnt. Louis Trichardt and Tshikota rely heavily on the water supply from the boreholes, as the Albasini Water Scheme cannot cope with the demand at the moment. Therefore, any breakdown to the affected water pump for the 17 boreholes adversely affects the water supply in Louis Trichardt and Tshikota areas,” reads the media statement, issued by the Director Community Services, Mr Elias Mugari.
On Monday, this significant railway pump station was found open and unattended. The municipality’s answer was that contractors were busy in the area. It is unclear why nobody could be seen in the area while even the door of the station was found open at 09:00 and again at 12:00.
As far as the Albasini supply goes, the Makhado Municipality said that they had “attended to all water leaks to the valves, pipes and pumps at the Albasini water scheme, and this has improved water supply in town.”
The municipality wants to add four boreholes. “As a precautionary measure, the municipality is in the process of procuring stand-by pumps at all pump stations within the municipality in order to alleviate similar challenges in future. Furthermore, the municipality is at an advanced stage of providing an additional four boreholes to augment the water supply around Louis Trichardt,” says Mugari.
The community is also advised to continue adhering to water restrictions as imposed by the municipality, as non-compliance negatively affects the water supply. “Theft and vandalism to the water infrastructure are also a challenge, and we call upon the members of the community to report such culprits to the SAPS and the municipality,” says Mugari.
Written by
Linda van der Westhuizen
Linda van der Westhuizen has been with Zoutnet since 2001. She has a heart for God, people and their stories. Linda believes that every person is unique and has a special story to tell. It follows logically that human interest stories is her speciality. Linda finds working with people and their leaders in the economic, educational, spiritual and political arena very rewarding. “I have a special interest in what God is doing in our town, province and nation and what He wants us to become,” says Linda.
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