Residents of Laat Lente and Herfsakker in Louis Trichardt’s woes with chronic water shortages promise to be a thing of the past by the end of November.

The people of Louis Trichardt are no strangers to the town’s continued interruptions in the water supply, and although many have by now invested in a borehole, storage tank and pressure pump, there are those who just cannot afford this alternative. Among those are the town’s elderly and this is where Rotary Louis Trichardt stepped in.

Earlier this year, the local Rotary Club, with the support of fellow charity organisations Round Table Zoutpansberg 66 and Ladies Circle 4, initiated a project to install a complete water supply system for the elderly of the Laat Lente and Herfsakker complex at a cost of close to R70 000.

“They sometimes go for days without water,” said Rotary’s Mr Godfrey Went.  He said they had now reached the stage where they could begin with the installation of the system. He expressed his gratitude towards all who had contributed financially to the project. Among them was South African Custodial Management (SACM).  In May this year, SACM’s Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre held their annual golf day. From the funds raised during this event, they donated an impressive R20 000 towards the project.

“SACM’s donation surely helps a lot,” Went said. According to him, installation of the system will commence this week. It is not, however, just a question of erecting a few water storage tanks.

“This will be a completely hassle-free, fully automated water supply and distribution system,” Went said. It will also entail a separate system for both Laat Lente and Herfsakker. Upon completion, Laat Lente will have 20 000 litres of water in storage, while Herfsakker will have 15 000 litres in reserve.

“The project is scheduled to be completed within the next two to three weeks,” Went said.