There might not always be enough water in Louis Trichardt's taps, but at least it is safe to drink.
This is according to one of AfriForum's most recent statements. On Monday, AfriForum's Limpopo district coordinator, Mr Jaco Grobbelaar, said that Louis Trichardt's water supply was among 10 selected towns' that got tested.
The tests were carried out during May with the aim to ascertain the quality of the drinking water. As part of the exercise, sewage water was also tested. Other towns where the tests were carried out included Phalaborwa, Marble Hall, Modimolle, Mookgophong, Bela-Bela, Tzaneen, Polokwane, Haenertsburg and Vaalwater.
"We established that the drinking water in the province is clean and contains no heavy metals, while bacteria levels adhere to applicable standards," said Grobbelaar.
These assessments form part of AfriForum's national blue- and green-drop project that focuses on the quality of the drinking water and sewage plants of towns across South Africa. Where it concerns the sewage plants, the project is focused on the quality of water released after the process in the form of drinking water (blue drop) and treated sewage (green drop).
What the forum did find worrisome, not only in Louis Trichardt but all the other towns, was the state of the municipal sewage plants. "We must give attention to sewage plants. We cannot allow unfit municipal officers to pollute our water resources and we plan on taking action in terms of the mandate given to us by residents," said Grobbelaar. Their tests show that sewage "does not adhere to set standards."
In the meantime, AfriForum wants to dig in for another round in court to force the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) to stick to court orders and supply water to residents. According to Grobbelaar, the VDM wants to get the court order, which was obtained on 17 March, set aside.
The court had ordered the VDM to, inter alia, restore the town's water supply, re-establish the borehole project and protect all the boreholes from further vandalism. Furthermore, the VDM has to give notice timeously of when the community will be without water.
Currently, Louis Trichardt relies on water from a dysfunctional borehole system for water when the Albasini water supply system is down for repairs. AfriForum has, for the past several years, proposed a plan of action to get the boreholes up and running to afford the VDM time to properly upgrade the Albasini network.
According to the local AfriForum chairperson, Mr Wally Schultz, the municipality has not yet made any efforts to comply with the court order. This is, according to AfriForum and Schultz, due to the fact that VDM is planning to have the court order annulled.
AfriForum responded to the VDM's application on 30 May, which deflected the battle back into VDM's court, giving them 10 calendar days to respond. This means that the case will again be placed on the role of the opposing court to be settled.