Potchefstroom water crisis

M

MyWorld

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There has been a water shortage/crisis in Potchefstroom since last week and Friday leaving the whole town without water and no immediate estimate on when it will be restored.

"Human error" seems to be to blame, that and the fact that residents do not heed to restrictions, watering gardens. filling pools, etc. keeps water levels low and makes it impossible for the water supply to get ahead of the demand curve. Talk of fines are on the table for those not heeding the call to restrictions.

Factories and businesses are now threatening to sue the town counsel.

Water collection points have been set up across town.

http://www.ofm.co.za/article/129220...uesfull-list-of-designated-water-tanker-areas
 
Apartheid is to blame... why did they build such big dams that take a long time to fill? They should have built more, smaller dams so that they could fill up faster!






<sarcasm based on EC MEC's recent comments>
 
And don't expect much to happen in the near future, the ANC controlled local council has been spending all their time, money and effort on ousting the DA mayor and putting their corrupt croney back into office.

As soon as the ANC mayor gets back into office, he is going to focus on getting his WaBenzi back that the DA mayor sold.
 
ANC obvously to blame again isn't it? Come on MyBB...go for it.

All that hot air by politicians is causing global warming.

Gary...not sure about the structure but what the heck has councils got to do with water supply? Unless things have changed. Water supply is an extremely long term infrastructure...over here they were blaming govt for not building a dam in over 50 years or so, dams were low...they built a multibillion dollar desalination plant,then it started raining more...last March all our dams near Sydney overflowed, last week our biggest one again overflowed...all the time the desal plant 'has to operate at above 50% capacity" because of a contract clause with operator i.e. they make money fromits operation plus consumables...so we are desalting sea water using lots of electricity to effectively pump it back to sea.

I am sure the ANC advised our govt.
 
There is a lot of speculations on who is to blame, but that is just speculation at this point.

The worst for us is that you cannot bath or shower. Luckily we have a small children's pool that was full when the crisis hit, so we are able to use little amounts of that water to bath the children. My petite figure however does not fit in that small amount of water!
:D
 
I heard about this.

I agree with most of the posts, but agree the most with Gary's regarding the Merc.

MyWorld, best of luck for you oaks!
 
OzzieCapie said:
Gary...not sure about the structure but what the heck has councils got to do with water supply?
Click to expand...

Of course water supply is a council issue. This is a city (Potchefstroom), not a farming district.
The local council operates their own network of pipes and distribution points and levies charges for the supply of water in the district.
They are also responsible for the provisioning and maintenance of the water supply network.
Why do you think there is a charge from the council for water supply on your rates bill every month?
 
LoL ... Potch ANC Mayor was voted out with a no confidence vote last year, so for the past few months its had a DA mayor! Who has just been voted out with another No confidence vote by the majority ANC members.... So all the in-house fighting between the two parties, and now this.... what a Joke.
 
SirFooK'nG said:
LoL ... Potch ANC Mayor was voted out with a no confidence vote last year, so for the past few months its had a DA mayor! Who has just been voted out with another No confidence vote by the majority ANC members.... So all the in-house fighting between the two parties, and now this.... what a Joke.
Click to expand...

The cANCer members removed their own mayor.
 
The DA is investigating allegations of dirty tricks after Potchefstroom's reservoirs ran dry over the weekend.

Not one, but seven municipal water pumps were bled simultaneously on Friday, causing a catastrophic water shortage. This is the first time in Potchefstroom's history that this situation has arisen and it has been established that there was no malfunction of equipment.

The fact that municipal workers neglected to notify management gave rise to suspicions that this was an act of sabotage.

A Facebook post by one McMillian Dlutu at 10:44 on Feb 25 accused the DA Government in Tlokwe of "shutting down water to the township".
The DA had an opinion of its own, however. The incident occurred on the eve of Helen Zille's visit to the City of Expertise and just a few days before the ANC was planning to table a motion of no confidence in the DA mayor.
"If disruption of water supply in Tlokwe is the result of a deliberate and planned process it will amount to a serious offence and a "terrorist activity" as defined in Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist And Related Activities Act 2004" warned DA councillor, Hans-Jurie Moolman."
- Cheryl Botha
Click to expand...

From the paper this morning.
 
Petty politicking which puts human life in danger deserves mandatory imprisonment. How idiotic can people be?
 
The fact that municipal workers neglected to notify management gave rise to suspicions that this was an act of sabotage.
Click to expand...

So, the final step to Zimbobwefication of this country has started.
 
There is now talk that the University is going to send some students home if this is not resolved soon.

Funny how quickly someone is humbled when you suddenly do not have access to a necessity!
 
OzzieCapie said:
ANC obvously to blame again isn't it? Come on MyBB...go for it.

All that hot air by politicians is causing global warming.

Gary...not sure about the structure but what the heck has councils got to do with water supply? Unless things have changed. Water supply is an extremely long term infrastructure...over here they were blaming govt for not building a dam in over 50 years or so, dams were low...they built a multibillion dollar desalination plant,then it started raining more...last March all our dams near Sydney overflowed, last week our biggest one again overflowed...all the time the desal plant 'has to operate at above 50% capacity" because of a contract clause with operator i.e. they make money fromits operation plus consumables...so we are desalting sea water using lots of electricity to effectively pump it back to sea.

I am sure the ANC advised our govt.
Click to expand...

Maybe you still use buckets and go down to the river to collect water where you are but we have taps in our houses and water comes out of them. The council provides and maintains the reticulation system that distributes water to these taps. The council also treats the water before it is reticulated. And the council will engage with bulk water suppliers for the water.
 
MyWorld said:
There is now talk that the University is going to send some students home if this is not resolved soon.
Click to expand...


NWU Potchefstroom Campus suspends classes due to water crisis

The rector of the Potchefstroom Campus, Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, suspended all classes on the campus as from 11:00 today (Thursday) because of the water crisis that is currently experienced in Potchefstroom. Classes will resume on Monday (4 March 2013) as usual.

The university would like to clearly state that the current water problem is a municipal problem that is affecting the campus. The reason for this decision is firstly to prevent a possible heath risk for students.

A further reason is that the campus, with its caring culture, also can help the community this way. By decreasing the water usage of the campus, it will enable the municipality to quicker fill the water reservoirs that – amongst others – provide Ikageng and Promosa with water.

Students who are able to go home, are therefore allowed to leave. Those students who can’t go home, will be taken care of. This include providing water for toilets in the residences, drinking water will still be available at certain points on campus, emergency services such as the health centre etc. will be fully functional, dining halls will be open and graduation ceremonies will continue.
 
OzzieCapie said:
ANC obvously to blame again isn't it? Come on MyBB...go for it.

All that hot air by politicians is causing global warming.

Gary...not sure about the structure but what the heck has councils got to do with water supply? Unless things have changed. Water supply is an extremely long term infrastructure...over here they were blaming govt for not building a dam in over 50 years or so, dams were low...they built a multibillion dollar desalination plant,then it started raining more...last March all our dams near Sydney overflowed, last week our biggest one again overflowed...all the time the desal plant 'has to operate at above 50% capacity" because of a contract clause with operator i.e. they make money fromits operation plus consumables...so we are desalting sea water using lots of electricity to effectively pump it back to sea.

I am sure the ANC advised our govt.
Click to expand...

o_O dafuq
 
I think they piped all of their water to me by mistake as my water bill is R21000 this month.
 
Of coarse this is sabotage. The timing is WAAAAAY too convenient for the ANC. They are low-life scum who would do anything to stay in power, even if it means to sacrifice human lives and dignity. It has been this way forever, since Mandela constructed bombs to take innocent lives in the name of the ANC. It's like putting Al Queda in power of the government.
 
Yep, yesterday the varisty closed at 11:00am and we could all go home, the town was mad busy with everyone hitting the road.

I Study there and really its unpleasant, combined with the heat it is more of a health risk than anything else. Taps where bone dry and often police had to step in when the community began to open fire emergency taps for the water.
 
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