Parts of Bloemfontein were left without water due to some maintenance work that had to be done in the past week. Residents are, however, up in arms as some have allegedly gone without water in their areas longer than the stipulated number of days.

Batho, Bloemside, Grasland, Ipopeng, and Freedom Square are some of the alleged places where water has yet to return, according to readers.

Bloemfontein Courant took to the streets of the city to find out from residents how they were affected by the prolonged water cuts in their areas.

“Not only do we have to carry lots of buckets for water, but we then have to buy mineral water so we can make food. This gets very expensive and most of us can’t afford to keep that up,” Modiehi Pitso said.

An elderly resident, Elizabeth van Rooy, said due to her health, carrying large buckets of water is very difficult for her. “From Wednesday, I had to walk a distance to get water as tanks were not provided to us. Carrying the buckets is not an easy task for me as I have all these back pains. We use the tap water here at Bodulo Car Wash since it’s connected to a different line than ours. It’s only on this Peter Swartz side where there is no water. Every other surrounding area has had their water supply return but we are going into day 8 without it,” said two other residents who wish to remain anonymous.

“Water is an essential, you need it for your toilets, for hygiene purposes and so much more. So where I stay the water just came back but I come here every now and then to help one of my friends here in Bloemside by fetching some water for him when he is unable to do so himself,” says Thabo Ramabeyane.

Bloemfontein Courant has reached out to the Mangaung Metro Municipality for comment on the delays, to no avail.

Bonolo Moloi
bonolo@mahareng.co.za