Loadshedding wreaking havoc with water supply systems: Senzo Mchunu

Intensified loadshedding is affecting the supply of water and sanitation in municipalities across the country, says minister Senzo Mchunu.

“Processing water in terms of pumping and cleaning is where we are experiencing challenges,” he told Newzroom Afrika.

“We are trying to find a way to keep the water running through taps. One of the things we've considered is to ask Eskom to exempt pump stations and water treatment plants from loadshedding.”

A departmental task team is looking into other interventions with a report due by the end of the month.

Asked why contingency measures had not already been implemented after years of loadshedding, Mchunu said lower stages in previous years had not had such a severe impact on reservoirs.

“Even if you didn't have loadshedding, in some cases you still were going to run into a number of problems because of the decline of the functionality of municipalities, especially with regard to providing services.

“There could have been measures to mitigate and prevent altogether what is happening. There's [a] need to improve and make changes in the way we manage water in municipalities.”

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