Photo: File photo
Photo: File photo
Residents of George in the Western Cape face a nervy 48 hours or so, after several burst pipes in the region have left many locals without access to running water. The crisis is believed to be linked to flash floods experienced here, just over five weeks ago.
George Municipality ‘running out of water’
Those recent torrents of rain have left the local water infrastructure on its knees. Three separate pipelines all buckled under pressure on Tuesday, prompting an emergency response from George’s municipal officials.
The water supply from the local dam is being throttled, and everyone currently in George has been instructed to use water sparingly over the next two to three days. According to a recent statement, a large portion of the town is set to feel the squeeze.
“George Municipality has identified further infrastructure damage clearly resulting from the flash flooding that took place on 22 November 2021. Three major pipe bursts have taken place over the past 24 hours.”
“The residents and visitors to George are urgently requested to USE WATER SPARINGLY over the next 48 hours as the pipebursts will affect water supply to a large portion of the city. The municipality is managing this crisis.”
George Municipality
Another Day Zero scare in the Western Cape
In the best-case scenario, the issue could be fixed by Thursday afternoon, and the localised ‘day zero’ panic will come to a halt. However, with just 61 megalitres of water available in the available regional supply, it’s likely the taps could run completely dry by tomorrow, if problems persist.
- Residents of George have also been told to avoid washing their cars, put off doing the laundry, and wait before watering any gardens.
“The municipality has 61 megalitres supply of DRINKING WATER in our reservoirs and the current daily demand is approximately 36 megalitres. We ask that residents PLEASE heed our call to use water sparingly – don’t wash your car today, delay doing your washing, do not water your garden.”
“The repair timeline, subject to there being no additional problems is a minimum of 36 hours. PLEASE ONLY USE WATER FOR ABSOLUTE NECESSITIES.”
George Municipality
