For the past six years, thousands of liters of water from the Vaalharts irrigation scheme have been going to waste as a result of a broken tap at the irrigation dam in Ganspan.
Overflow from the dam is flooding the surrounds and increasing tracts of grazing land used by smallholder farmers in Ganspan are underwater. Livestock are walking in the road to avoid the waterlogged grassy plains while vegetable gardens have also been flooded.
It is believed that the overflow cannot be distributed via the canal system, as water users will not be able to manage the additional quantity, causing further overflow down the line. The water also cannot be turned off, as water purchase orders must be dispensed.
A lack of action is the result of uncertainty between the Phokwane municipality, the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Agriculture, regarding whose responsibility it is to replace the broken tap. In effect, no one is taking accountability for the excessive water wastage.
A replacement tap will cost in the region of R 160 000. This is far less than the cost of the water that has been allowed to go to waste over the years.
DA councillor, Annette van Wyk, has requested that Phokwane Municipality urgently arranges a meeting with the stakeholder departments to stop the growing water losses. We will follow this up with a formal written request to all stakeholders.
Water is a scarce resource and by law the state is tasked with protecting, managing, conserving and controlling its usage.
The DA calls on voters to make use of 29 May, to vote for a government that will rescue the Northern Cape from water challenges and protect our water system.