The Donkerpoortdam is empty and water restrictions mean that households will be without water for a part of each day. The residents hear the noisy drilling machines all over the town, while the council tries to find water under the earth.
The Lim 368 municipality, as referred to in the Modimolle / Mookgophong municipality until a new name is established, is hard at work to ensure the town’s water supply remains secure. In the past week, boreholes were drilled at the Donkerpoortdam, but yielded only one hole that produced water, an official of the municipality said. Geologists believe that drilling in the Three Gates environment might not yield more water because there are already boreholes producing.
There is a ditch from Three Gates surrounded with the old asbestos pipe that are to be replaced with new 12 PVC class pipe. The ditch situated behind the Pick ‘n Pay Centre and the Waterberg School of Adult Education, will have enough carrying capacity for water from the boreholes.
There are currently six wells in this part of town that delivers 1.9 megaliters of water.
Marlene van Staden the new mayor, called an urgent meeting with the water supplier Magalies Water on Tuesday, September 6. The council discussed the short to medium term solutions to the town’s water scarcity. Democratic Alliance MP Leon Basson, the DA’s shadow minister of water and sanitation, attended the meeting. Adv. Mosotho Petlane, Magalies Water’s chairman and Sandile Mkhize, acting chief executive officer, and Mohlomole Mello, chief engineer, were also present.
Leon Basson is directly linked to the director general of the department of water and sanitation and queried if emergency funding can be made available to the municipality. It is imperative that the council begin with urgent work to rectify the water situation. Currently no budget is available. The funding cannot come from taxpayers’ pockets and requests for funding by the national department is to be considered, a source in the municipality told Die Pos.
The Modimolle Municipality is indebted to Magalies Water of more than R1.5 million and Eskom of more than R43 million. Mookgophong owes Eskom more than R77 million. The new merged municipality’s debt is to be paid to the energy supplier and is estimated to be more than R121 million.
Die Pos learned that the municipality is apparently negotiating with the service providers to set up installment credit payments. The municipality will meet with Eskom to ensure that supply of power to the town will remain uninterrupted and not be switched off.
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