This week saw local residents without water since Tuesday, when water pressure started going down in many parts of the area, especially in Laudium Ext 3 and the nearby Itireleng area.
Water supply is set to resume back to normalcy only tomorrow (Saturday) as the Council embarks on switching to a new high pressure water line, which was commissioned in 2022. Thus in order to empty the local reservoir, the Council set yesterday and today (Friday, Sept 6) for a complete shutdown, affecting water supply to Laudium, Claudius and Itireleng. Residents throughout the area have been complaining of the short notice given to them regarding the water supply interruption and also of the lack of back-up plans to deliver water to households.
Residents in Ext 3 complained the most as they saw their taps dry out first. 40-year-old Bellah Madewa from Bengal Street told the Laudium Sun, “We have been without water since Tuesday. We are struggling without water and are depending on trucks from the Council to provide us with water. When there is no water life is difficult because we can’t bath or cook. The problem is that the Council did not inform us on time that there would be no water in our area for a certain number of days. We don’t know whether in other areas in Bellah Madewa of Bengal Street said the Council should have informed residents timeously of the water cut. Laudium they have water or not. Early in the morning when our children woke up to go to school, they were struggling because there
was no water. We don’t know what is the problem, why we don’t have water and I just think it is unfair that we are not being told what the problem is and when will the water supply resume to normality.”
Another resident, Paul Kalata from Bengal Street, said in their area, there has been very little water since Saturday, as pressure started going down. We are sick and tired of living without water. These trucks that are providing us with water are not reliable as they don’t come immediately and we have to wait in the sun for them to deliver water as they are not consistent with delivery times.”
Yet another fed-up resident Prelin Perumal from Bengal Street, told the Laudium Sun, “We don’t have water and now we have to buy water from the shops. We are calling on the Council to resolve this matter of the water problem urgently. The situation is frustrating as some of the residents have to carry buckets far from their houses to get water from the trucks. In other areas there is water leaking which is such a waste. Water pipe leakages are wasting water, while we are struggling to get water and there are also places in Erasmia where water pipes are leaking. These pipes have been leaking for more than two months. The Council should immediately fix all these pipes which are leaking and let us know when we can expect water back in our taps.”
Councillor Naeem Patel told the Laudium Sun, “The team from the Council’s bulk water services are working round the clock to complete their task by Friday (today), so that the taps to refill the reservoir can be turned on again. Everything is on track as planned.”
