Residents await water tanks filling up after tanks installation completed

LEEUWFONTEIN – The water storage tanks recently installed at strategic points in Leeuwfontein outside Marble Hall within the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality (EPMLM) await their testing project which has been arranged for Thursday, 29 July before they could be filled up with water to temporarily help residents have access to water.
Sekhukhune District Municipality (SDM) have installed a total of 20 storage tanks in various parts of the area as an interim measure following challenges of lack of access to water in the area. Ten of the tanks were distributed in Moganyaka area.
The installation of the 10 000L tanks started in June this year and SDM carries the responsibility of filling and replenishing them as their installation stage reached completion recently.
Their installation was received with mixed reactions as some of the residents worried that the district municipality may abandon their calls for a permanent solution to water problems in the area. Others welcomed the move as the tanks would in the interim, help ease their burden of having to fetch water from available sources they currently shared with animals.
“We still call for the attention of the municipality on our problem of lack of access to running water in the area. The tanks are just here to assist because there is no water at all. Our calls for the district municipality to move at speed to permanently address our water challenges remain and we will never rest until that demand is met in the interest of the masses,” said Kgobise Setlamorago, a resident.
Members of the community made submissions to the district municipality for a temporary intervention as the upgrading of the Flag Boshielo water treatment plant was underway. The water treatment plant, once completed, is expected to supply the area with water sustainably.
Isaac Mahlakwane, SDM Mayoral Spokesperson, said the newly installed water storage tanks would be incorporated into the water carts schedule and that the municipality was currently replenishing all its tanks on a weekly basis.
However, Mahlakwane informed that the routine would importantly be dependent on the availability of the water carts.
He said that the tanks installation was a first phase of the temporary intervention of the district municipality with regard to lack of water services in the area.
“The second phase would be the identification and refurbishment of the existing boreholes as work is in progress for the upgrading of the water reticulation system of the area to ensure adequate filling up of reservoirs,” concluded Mahlakwane.
Meanwhile, the residents in the area continue to depend on available water sources they share with animals for water and those who afford purchase from sellers who fetch from boreholes in their yards.