Residents of Waterval decided that enough was enough and recently went around cutting off all "illegal water connections" that had been made to the main pipeline feeding the water reservoir.
It is allleged that residents of neighbouring Shikuhela village had tampered with the main pipeline to the reservoir and made three illegal connections. All these connections had been diverting large volumes of water from flowing into the reservoir.
"People from Shikuhela village started connecting illegal water connections around 2006," a community leader, Mr Henry Mashava, said. "We reported these cases of illegal water connections to the Vhembe District Municipality, but it seemed they were just afraid of coming out to disconnect them. It amazes us when government officials act in an unprofessional manner."
The residents of Waterval had not been receiving sufficient water since these illegal connections were made. "We decided that enough was enough and informed the district municipality that we were going to cut off all illegal connections," Mashava said. "An official in the district municipality gave us the go-ahead and advised us to request the police to come and stand as witness to our act."
The Waterval police said that it was not their duty to watch people disconnect any illegal water connections.
"The painful thing is that we pay water bills to the municipality, whether or not we have running water in our households," he said. "Shikuhela people have free-flowing water that they use for free and through illegal channels."
Mashava said that the Shikuhela residents must refrain from connecting their pipes to the legitimate pipeline to the reservoir. "If they connect their pipes once more, we will come and cut them off again."
A resident of Shikuhele village, Ms Tsakani Mabasa (55), told a group of men and a woman who had just disconnected the pipes that what they had done was wrong. "Don't be selfish – we must share this water," she said. "We connected our own pipes, so that we too must have water. The Vhembe District Municipality's water unit here in Waterval gave us permission to connect our pipes."
Another resident, Ms Elisa Baloyi (53), stopped in her tracks while fetching water a distance away in another part of the village and glared at the people who had disconnected the pipes. "Now that you have cut off our pipes, what do you think we will drink?" she asked. "You are killing us! This water belongs to all of us and not you and your people alone."
The Vhembe District Municipality's media liaison officer, Mr Moses Shibambu, said that they would investigate the case of illegal water connections. "No one is allowed to make illegal connections, not even our officials," he said. "So residents who are involved in tampering with water pipes are committing a crime. Illegal connection is tantamount to vandalism."