As Makhanda entered its sixth day without water on Tuesday, 22 February, the lines at the Gift of the Givers water truck snaked along streets in Makhanda as desperate mothers and grandmothers brought buckets, milk pails and any plastic containers they could find to get some water.
After a series of smaller failures throughout January, the James Kleynhans Water Treatment works pump station in Makhanda failed after its power station was flooded when a gasket blew.
“Our team tried by all means to save the situation, but unfortunately could not win,” the municipality’s statement read.
The town has struggled with continuous water outages since the beginning of January as problems cropped up at both the James Kleynhans and the Waainek water treatment works.
Residents queue for waster in Nompondo Street on Sunday 21 February 2021. Photos: Sue Maclennan Gift of the Givers steps in again
“I had 120 messages and 75 calls yesterday – really, my phone was going non-stop.”
Gift of the Givers’ Pamela Kaptein is used to getting calls from desperate residents at all hours.
“But this was just crazy,” she told GMDirect as she organised a queueing system at a Gift of the Givers water truck that had just arrived on a street corner near the Extension 9 hall. “I can’t blame them though, people were just desperate.”
Pamela Kaptein at the Gift of the Givers water delivery point in Extension 9 on Sunday 21 February. Her phone had been going non-stop. Photo: Sue Maclennan