Mangaung’s Mayor, Mxolisi Siyonzana, says in a statement that he has been engaging with Bloem Water’s board and he has been assured that they are doing everything they can to remedy the situation. The water board is still busy with emergency repairs at the Welbedacht Dam. It is here that a Bloem Water employee died this weekend. OFM News reported that it was not clear if there was a link between the burst pipe reported at the dam on Sunday and the death of the employee. It is unknown at this stage when supply will be restored to affected areas.

These affected suburbs are Lourierpark, Pellissier, Bayswater, Pentagon Park, Heuwelsig, Westdene and parts of the city’s central business district (CBD). The Pellissier suburb and surrounding areas were the first to be affected at the top of the workweek when the Welbedacht pipeline underwent maintenance which left the Brandkop reservoir empty, and residents without water. 

Read more: Bloemfontein se krane moontlik weer droog

On Thursday, a burst was reported along the Maselspoort pipeline that affected Bayswater, Pentagon Park, Heuwelsig, Westdene and parts of the city’s CBD. Mangaung, which services the Free State capital as well as Botshabelo, Thaba’ Nchu, Dewetsdorp, and Wepener, says residential debt to the metro amounts to over R4.5 billion and business debt is at over R1 billion.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, is holding a briefing on the state of water in the country. This is a developing story.

OFM News