Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Red flags are waving in large parts the Eastern Cape province pertaining to worn or damaged water and sewerage infrastructures which not only create serious health concerns for humans and animals, but also inadequate water supply to some of the towns.
The province is known for its vast rural areas ideally suited to game, small and large livestock farming, and crop cultivation. The majority of these farming enterprises are part of a community, usually a nearby town – many of which are currently on the brink of disaster due to unreliable waste removal, and poor water, sewerage, and power infrastructure management.
On account of this, we visited three towns in the Eastern Cape where the major stumbling blocks seem to revolve around the following issues:
- A serious breakdown of communication between the local municipalities governed by district municipalities.
- Bankrupt municipalities, slow or non-existent municipal funding, or money spent on projects that have gone south.
- A growing concern about maintenance and outdated infrastructure.
- Water mafia involvement in the extraction of water from public sources.
Komani in a catch-22 position
There should not be a water crisis in Komani in the Eastern Cape. Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) has been in the spotlight after failing to provide satisfactory answers and solutions to the water supply problems, which have been having a negative effect on Komani in the Eastern Cape.
According to residents and businesses, CHDM has a lot to answer for regarding the following issues:
- Water supply shortages from the Waterdown Dam, which is under management of Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM), and have been putting hospitals, schools, businesses, and households under severe pressure since last October.
- The Xonxa Dam is at 97% supply capacity, but is not in operation due a broken pump station since May 2021.
Waterdown Dam:
This dam supplies Whittlesea and Komani with drinking water. The CHDM allocation for Waterdown Dam, is 4,5 million cubic meters per annum. Usage up until the end of January 2025 was 3,2 million cubic metres, which means there is still about 2 million cubic metres of their allocated water left in the dam. The question being asked, is why CHDM abstraction from Waterdown Dam is way below average, leading to Komani not receiving enough water from this reservoir?
According to local sources, no one is sure if the problem arises from infrastructure issues, such as leaks and air valve on the main pipeline from Waterdown Dam to the McEwan pump station, which could mean that it is not fully operational. On average, CHDM has been abstracting only about 14 mega litres (Ml) per day from the Waterdown Dam during the last three months, despite advice from the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to increase on the abstraction to at least 30Ml/day to meet the demand in Komani. This leaves a 16Ml/day shortage to meet the daily water demand, leaving the town without adequate water supply. The daily water abstraction does not even get close to the demand and concerns have been raised that, should CHDM continue the low abstraction rate, the sewerage systems in Komani will start failing as a result.
In February, a slight improvement meant more water was being let through from the dam to the water treatment plant. There was also talk of CHDM and their advising consultants, SINAKHO Consulting, to try and figure out where exactly the so-called ‘bottleneck’ is at the Waterdown Dam pipeline supplying Komani. One guess could be that the water treatment plant is not operating at full capacity, due to the need for infrastructure maintenance. It is also likely that something more serious could be going on, like the water mafia’s involvement being the reason that a reduced amount of water reaches Komani.
Xonxa Dam:
The Xonxa pump station has been non-operational since 2021 and is currently 97% full. In the past, the dam was used mainly for irrigation purposes, but it can also supply Bongola Dam, which is one of Komani’s main water resources. The pump station and rising mainline from Xonxa Dam, was funded from a regional bulk infrastructure grant which was paid for by the DWS.
DWS funded the project, but the implementation was the responsibility of CHDM which had to appoint consultants to implement the project through contractors. This system was installed and Xonxa Dam started providing Komani with water from December 2020. However, in May 2021 the complete pump and motor system broke down. Some people believe that the dam’s pump station was designed incorrectly, and this is why the complete pump system with its motors seized, rendering it incapable of supplying water to Bongola Dam and Komani, where serious droughts over the past years have led to severe water shortages.
Bongola Dam:
This dam is also under the management of CHDM. It is currently empty and not receiving any water from Xonxa Dam (due to the reasons mentioned above), which renders it useless at present.
In January this year, the Christ Hani district mayor, Lusanda Sizani, said that the pumps at Xonxa Dam would be in working order by March this year. During a recent meeting between CHDM council and DWS, the DWS regional head, Ms Portio Makhanya, requested that the CHDM prioritise the repair of the broken-down pumps at Xonxa Dam. However, it is estimated that the discussion about this process will only be finalised by the end of March.
The one question that pops up about the Komani water dilemma, is why virtually nothing has been done about the Xonxa Dam pump and motor system that broke down in early in 2021.
There is money in water
Situated approximately 100km south of Komani, is the Kat River Dam which supplies irrigation water to citrus farmers in the area, as well as domestic water to Seymour and Fort Beaufort. This dam’s pump station has on numerous occasions been targeted with cable theft, cutting the power off so that the dam cannot pump water to its allocated places. When the cables are cut and the pump station is inoperable, it means business for the water mafia who takes water through to Seymour. It is also believed that the person who is behind this, lives in Fort Beaufort and is very closely associated with the water tankers.
The pump station at the Kat River Dam is currently powerless after yet another cable theft incident. DWS is currently dealing with the repairs, and it is believed that the DWS installation will be secured through a concrete structure. This will be an expensive operation. Eskom, in the meantime, has replaced the stolen copper cable with an aluminium cable and no vandalism in stolen cable has occurred yet after the last cable replacement by them.
Day Zero in the pipeline
Having been in the grip of a drought since late last year, the Karoo-town Burgersdorp hovers on the threshold of Day Zero. The town gets its water from two dams, namely the Chiapinni’s Klip Dam and the J.L. De Bruin Dam. The water levels of these dams are low and one of the main reasons for this, are broken water pipes that are not being fixed or replaced. “This issue needs urgent attention,” says DA ward councillor, Matthee Nel. “Our biggest headache at the moment, is to finally get the Joe Gqabi District Municipality on board to prevent the complete disintegration of the town’s infrastructure which will lead to running out of water entirely.”
Burgersdorp has been experiencing a drought since last year, and both the Chiapinni's Klip Dam (on the left) and the J.L. De Bruin Dam water levels are critically low. Years ago, a request was submitted to remove the sludge from the J.L. De Bruin Dam, which is part of the problem at this dam.
Burgersdorp, along with four other towns (Venterstad, Steynsburg, Aliwal North and Jamestown) are all part of the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality (WSLM). The water and sewerage system of Burgersdorp is, however, under the direct management of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality. The town is progressively experiencing problems with broken and leaking water and sewerage pipes. Even more concerning, is the town’s asbestos water infrastructure which poses an environmental and health hazard (asbestos was banned in South Africa in 2006) to its residents.
Burgersdorp also deals with power supply issues which is connected to WSLM owing Eskom an astronomical amount of R600 million and has been placed on the National Financial Recovery Plan as a strategy to help the municipality recover from its debts. Taking this into account, is a R470 million project in the pipeline for the construction of a 500-bed correctional centre. Nel believes this will have huge ramifications on the dated sewerage system. “We are already dealing with sewerage pipes which are not being replaced, but covered with fixing tubes,” he says. “If sewage starts leaking into our water systems, it could lead to imminent disaster.” There are already signs of sewage in certain water streams in and around the town which ends up at the Gariep Dam. “One can clearly see the white sewage lines at Oviston on the southern bank of the Gariep Dam,” says Nel. “We are not the only ones dealing with this. Our neighbouring town, Molteno, has an even bigger problem with sewage in the water.” The town is managed by the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality which is part of the Chris Hani District Municipality.
Nel believes the delay in action is caused by the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, which he believes does not have sufficient funds to allocate to WSLM. An urgent meeting was called on 18 January, where the DA wanted to discuss the current crisis with the Joe Gqabi District Municipality directors. However, they did not attend the meeting, which left the manager of Walter Sisulu Local Municipality, Mr Khaya Gashi, unable to act.
In a letter drafted on 4 March by Marina van Zyl, DA MP in the Western Cape, Mr M Nonjola, the municipal manager of Joe Gqabi District Municipality, is urged to pay urgent attention to a 600m leaking underground water pipe in Burgersdorp, specifically in La Rochelle Street. Van Zyl states in the letter that this is a particularly concerning situation, due to the town being situated in a water-scarce area and the continuous leakage of clean water bubbling to the surface represents a significant waste of water. She furthermore refers to excavation work that was done in October 2024 to assess the issue, which has been left in an unsafe condition. The dug-up areas have not been secured with safety tape or other precautionary measures, and the displaced soil was left on what remains of the tarred road. Van Zyl emphasizes in the letter to Mr Nonjola that this poses a serious hazard to both motorists and the children who frequently play in the area. She also states that ward councillor Nel has consistently raised this matter with the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, but without any success regardless of water loss while the community’s safety is being put at risk.
In conclusion, by taking the dire situation of the aforementioned towns into consideration, one can only but wonder about the quandary that some other Eastern Cape towns must be facing due to the lack of viable options on the table. The question remains: What will happen next? – Carin Venter, Plaas Media
