The last communication was sent out on Friday (14/2) when the Bloemfontein experienced water supply shortages and interruptions due to “an influx of highly emerging contaminates” from the upstream Caledon River.

All affected areas would be provided with alternative water sources to minimise the impact on residents, businesses, schools, and essential services, the municipality said.

Reacting to the water disruptions on Wednesday (19/2), DA Ward 21 Cllr Pieter Lotriet said: “The metro is once more forced to play musical chairs with the water supply due to a lack of clean drinking water in residential areas.

“The unannounced cutting of the water supply from one suburb in favour of another area is now common practice.”

In addition to the ongoing problem, the metro was unwilling to communicate with councillors, Lotriet said. They simply want reliable answers to relay to residents, but the metro’s attitude created the impression that it did not care about tax-paying inhabitants.

Unforeseen water quality challenges had impacted its water treatment process. Photo: Facebook/Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality

He advised residents to store enough water for daily use over a period of seven days, noting that while the supply might last, it also might not. People needed to build a reserve, as they could not rely solely on water trucks and tanks, given that the metro was already overstretched in that regard.

Mangaung spokesperson Qondile Khedama said on Friday that unforeseen water quality challenges had impacted their treatment process, requiring immediate adjustments to ensure safe and reliable water distribution.

R3 billion would be required to tackle Mangaung Metro’s severe water and sanitation challenges, Municipal Manager Sello More announced during the city’s Infrastructure Indaba late last week to attract investment and address the metro’s deteriorating infrastructure.

“Approximately 79,000 households still lack access to water and sanitation services, while outdated infrastructure has led to frequent water outages and widespread service delivery failures,” he said.

“The ongoing water cuts are due to ageing, dilapidated infrastructure that has been neglected for years. Water treatment plants are either non-functional or overwhelmed, worsening the crisis.”

OFM News/Zenande Mpame mvh