As the majority of the reservoirs in Greater Hermanus is running dry, the Overstrand Municipal teams are rolling out JoJo tanks to the communities to supply water. These tanks are filled with tanker trucks at regular intervals. However, water is being carted from Stanford at present, which is the closest reliable source. As can be expected, this impacts on the turnaround times of the trucks which can take up to three hours.
This morning the Municipal Manager met with all the relevant role-players to discuss and agree on a plan to roll out the provision of water for essential use, taking into account the limited resources at our disposal.
Currently we have approximately 30 water stations with JoJo tanks over the Greater Hermanus area. There are also a number of critical users like the hospitals and the old age homes which also need to be serviced. In an effort to co-ordinate the distribution of water to all these stations, supply will be rotated on a three hourly basis between them. This will ensure that we can plan the operations and also allow sufficient time for the tankers to be filled and rolled out.
The Municipality will give first priority to providing the communities with water and will only then be able to assist with requests from businesses.
Starting from 13:00 today, 29 September 2023, the large tankers (22 000 and 30 000 litres) will travel and fill up at the source, park at the fire station where the smaller tankers will fill up and distribute to the JoJo stations. This will continue until midnight and start again at 05:00 the next morning to allow the drivers and support teams to rest. We will continue with this operation until the water is fully restored.
Residents are requested to be patient as water will be distributed to all points. It was further noted that some residents and even builders arrive with many containers at the JoJo stations. This is simply selfish and will not be tolerated as the main objective is to supply water for essential use, generally about 25 litres per time is considered sufficient. Please spread the word so that during these trying times we allow each household to get water.
We would also like to thank the Provincial Roads Department, Municipalities of George, Mossel Bay, Drakenstein and the District Municipalities of Overberg and the Garden Route as well as CocaCola for availing their tankers at no cost to the Overstrand to assist us in this crisis. It is highly appreciated.
Finally, we would like to also take this opportunity to thank our residents, of whom the majority has been extremely patient and understanding.
As information on the repair work becomes available the public will be informed.
