Vandals broke into the Bothas Hill reservoir complex and destroyed the brick housing for a telemetry system crucial to Makhanda s water security. It costs R200K - worth less than R50 in the scrap metal for which it was probably harvested. Photos supplied Vandals destroy R250K water tracker
A case has been opened at Joza Police Station after vandals have destroyed a R250 000 telemetry system at Makhanda’s main supply reservoir. The discovery was made when water technicians went to reopen the supply to residents after a six-day water outage.
The water outage was caused by a blown gasket on a pump at James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works. The leaking pump flooded the pump station, leaving the town’s residents without water for six days. Technicians were brought from Joburg to commission a backup pump while the broken one went for repairs. The water supply was partly restored on Wednesday 24 February and is set to continue on alternate days until the town’s reservoirs ar