Residents in Swartruggens, North West, are facing ongoing water shortages even as the local dam overflows due to infrastructure failures. Many are relocating because of the crisis, which hampers local businesses. The municipality attributes the issue to a broken pump and is working on repairs.
In Swartruggens, a town in South Africa's North West province, water supply problems persist despite the Swartruggens Dam being full and overflowing. The community relies on the Elands River as its sole water source, which is currently flowing well. However, faulty infrastructure, including a non-maintained water pump, prevents adequate distribution, particularly to higher-lying areas.
Local resident Dr Graham Cloete explained the situation: “The problem with Swartruggens is that we are really just on the one sole water source which is the Elands River which is running well at the moment and the dam is a bit small for the community. So, as with climate change we get some years more rain and less rain. At the moment we’ve got a lot of water passing our town. So, the other problem is because of the high lying areas the water gets pumped behind here from the pump up to the high area, it must take the bottom water out here so these people are having chronic water shortage even if the dam is full.”
The newly constructed water reservoir stands unused, described as a white elephant, while the older, smaller one cannot meet growing demand. This has led to business disruptions and resident relocations. Dr Lydia Moeng voiced frustration: “We cannot do business; many people are leaving. We have requested for assistance from the local municipality; no one listens to us.”
Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality Mayor Thabo Jacobs identified a broken gusher pump near the N4 highway as the main issue. “The main problem there is that our gusher pump, which is located to the N4 has been experiencing persistent breakdowns. We have since dispatched a team to go and address that issue. We have been working hand in hand with some of the community members of the Swartruggens area. Also to clarify that there is no such a thing that we are deliberately using the water tanks. The water tanks are used as the last resort to intervene because though we are having challenges. We cannot have a situation whereby we are not supplying people with water.”
Dams in the Kgetleng Valley are at 100% capacity, but excessive runoff is lost, flowing toward the Mozambique coast. The municipality uses water tanks as an emergency measure while repairs proceed.