Water outages in Fort Beaufort (statement from ADM)

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

The Water Services Act 107 of 1997 provides for ADM to supply water and sanitation in the district. Further to this the Authority and responsibility for the provision of effective, efficient and sustainable water services for all communities within the ADM rests with ADM as delegated in June 2003. In recognition of this constitutional and legislative obligation, ADM has since declared supply of water and sanitation as essential services.

It is therefore regrettable to inform the community of Fort Beaufort and the surroundings that we are currently experiencing persistent water outages in the area. These outages are caused by technical glitches with Water Treatment Works.

While it was expected that the current filter system would suffice until the planned upgrade was completed, this appears not to be the case and a major failure of the system has occurred. The failure has affected a number of the filters and as a result the treatment works is unable to treat sufficient water to meet the current demand.

Unfortunately the water outages will persist until the problems with the filters have been resolved. ADM has already appointed specialist water treatment service providers to undertake the repairs, a process which is expected to take 3 weeks to complete.

As a caring and responsive government institution, we have made available Water tankers to supply water to affected communities in the interim. The Amathole District Municipality would like to apologise profusely, for the inconvenience caused by this disruption to the water services. We would to assure our customers that ADM Engineering Department is working around the clock to ensure the repairs are carried out as quickly as possible.

The upgrade project of the water supply system is currently in the design phase and construction is due to begin towards the end of 2014. This contract will include the complete refurbishment and upgrade of the water treatment works, the upgrading of certain bulk pipelines and pump stations as well as the construction of additional storage.

While these upgrades will go a long way to improving the functionality and reliability of the water supply system, the Amathole District Municipality would like to make a special plea to consumers to use water responsibly and for its intended purpose and ensure that all household leaks should be repaired immediately.

Meanwhile, ADM is pleased to announce that following a thorough investigation on water disruptions in Qaukeni, work has already commenced to address disruptions. Further update on progress will be provided in due course.

ADM wishes to appeal to members of the public to visit our satellite offices across the district and immediately report all emergencies or call our offices at 043 701 4000 or E-mail us on info@amathole.gov.za.

Issued by the Amathole District Municipality’s Communications & Customer Care Unit.