In February, the OFM News team reported the municipality had roped in Sedibeng Water to aid in resolving infrastructure-related issues at its Trident water treatment plant.

Ngwathe Spokesperson, Steve Naale, says while the mechanical repairs affected supply only in some parts of Tumahole township and Parys, Eskom’s current implementation of load-shedding is making it difficult for water to be pumped from the water purification plant to reservoirs in Parys and Tumahole. The result is that most areas, even those that did have water consistently at a point, are now without water, thanks to low water levels reveals Naale. In the meantime, the municipality pledges to continue to refill Jojo tanks placed in the area and keep the public updated on the latest developments.

To add insult to injury, on Friday, Ngwathe further announced “an electricity breaker explosion” had exacerbated the situation, plunging the town further into darkness. Naale says their technical team is attempting to resolve the situation, but this too is setting efforts to ensure water supply in the area further back.

Parys, is the lesser-known casualty of the Vaal Water Crisis, with media coverage on the matter, is dominated by the main culprit in the crisis - Emfuleni Local Municipality in Gauteng.

In 2018 Save the Vaal’s Maureen Stewart in 2018, explained the drinking water at the Gauteng municipality is safe to drink because it comes from the Vaal Dam and undergoes an extensive purification process by Rand Water, while Parys on the other end bears the brunt of the pollution, with it being located downstream, where pollution accumulates.

Ngwathe which faces its own set of governance issues have long struggled to sufficiently treat the raw water it retrieves from the Vaal River, for consumption due to several problems at its water treatment plant. The result of this is the widely circulated pictures of brown water coming from domestic taps in the Free State town.

Meanwhile, Eskom has downgraded load-shedding to Stage 2, as of Saturday morning. The power utility has warned that changes to the load-shedding stages may apply at short notice. South Africa’s latest bout of load-shedding follows the announcement of a faulty pump at the ailing state-owned entity’s Koeberg plant.

OFM News