Swartland Municipality says water reservoirs low due to excessive usage, vandals, drought

CAPE TOWN - The Swartland Municipality in Western Cape said the region's water reservoirs were only 4% full due to excessive usage, vandals, and drought conditions.

However, Chatsworth residents claim the council's been limiting their supply for weeks on end and that the poor-quality water was making them ill.

ALSO READ: Swartland Municipality urges Chatsworth residents to reduce water usage, report infrastructure vandalism

The Swartland Municipality admitted to EWN that the region was facing a potential Day Zero scenario.

Chatsworth locals said there's room for boreholes to be dug but council officials were not taking note.
 
In the meantime, the Swartland Municipality's Mart-Marie Haasbroek said they were deploying water tankers to Chatsworth and Silvertown, the two towns with the worst water supply right now.
 
"The excessive demands from residents and the rapid depletion of the supplying reservoir, coupled with the damage from the vandals has led to these disruptions. Swartland Municipality has consistently urged residents to reduce water usage to help prevent interruptions."
 
But Chatsworth community leader, Nadia Phyllis, claimed it was not true that the community was contributing to the area's water problems.
 
"Because they closed the doors on the people. So, this is our only solution. So, if he’s saying that we stole something or we vandalised anything, he must come out and come and show us what was vandalised because the only thing that I can see that is being vandalised are the rights of us as people."
 
Community calls are growing louder now for Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina to urgently intervene in the region's water crisis.