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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to expand its investigation into Magareng municipality’s debilitating and intermittent water supply.

Magareng municipality makes use of two main water sources for domestic water use, with the gravitated water from the Vaalharts canal being the primary water source and the twin pumps in the Vaal River being the secondary source - neither is being effectively managed to ensure a sustainable supply of water.

Magareng experienced a crisis last year, when the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation closed the canal in November 2022 for a period of 14 days for planned maintenance. Despite the municipality being informed well in advance, the pumps at the river were out of commission due to delayed repairs, leaving Warrenton high and dry. A service provider consequently had to be appointed to supply portable pumps to provision water for the two-week canal closure. See pic here.

Since then, the pumps have been submerged in flood water, with the terrain making it impossible to retrieve the pumps from the river for repairs.

In addition to the blatant mismanagement of the pumps, they have become an easy target, with cable thieves having stolen the electrical cables on several occasions during 2022. Magareng Municipality, however, turned down an offer by a resident to sponsor a pole and a solar powered streetlight, to help safeguard the site. The current security arrangement, sees guards who are stationed at the treatment plant, visiting the site sporadically at night, with handheld torches, as they negotiate their way through the veld for almost one kilometre. The site is not visible from the plant and does not have facilities for guards.

Since a former complaint laid by the DA with the SAHRC, regarding nine months of water shortages in Warrenton in 2021, the municipality clearly continues to experience serious water supply challenges.

I have submitted an additional complaint to the SAHRC and hope that this will be incorporated into the ongoing investigation, ultimately culminating in urgent recommendations that will finally help end the Magareng water crisis.

Issued by Willem Potgieter, Cllr - Magareng Municipality