Since the lockdown commenced, the City’s Water and Waste Directorate has actioned the rollout of 31 water trucks, which have delivered more than 13 million litres of water to some of our most vulnerable communities in informal settlements where access to water is constrained. This essential service, however, has not come without its challenges as opportunistic criminals have targeted our water trucks at two delivery points.
The City of Cape Town continues to provide basic and essential services to approximately 200 000 informal households. Given the State of National Disaster that has been declared, the City has extended its services to deploy water trucks daily and to install water tanks to enhance residents’ access to water in informal settlements.
As part of our COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the City actioned the rollout of the water trucks as an emergency measure to enhance access to water for residents in informal settlements where it is constrained.
The City always strives to provide the highest possible level of access to water, but this is sometimes constrained by factors beyond its control, such as settlements being established on railway lines, on sand dunes, or in a wetland.
We are very pleased that we have been able to deliver more than 13 million litres of water thus far to assist our vulnerable communities with water for hygiene and household purposes and we will continue to do so for the duration of the extended lockdown.
This however has not come without its challenges. Opportunistic criminals have robbed contractors and staff with knives in Nyanga and at gunpoint in Khayelitsha, violently taking valuables belonging to operational staff. This happened while they were delivering water in Nyanga on 5 April and Site C informal settlement in Khayelitsha on 9 April.
The team returned to Site C Informal Settlement from Sunday 12 April, accompanied by private security. On Tuesday 14 April, suspected criminals started approaching them again and they were advised to withdraw in the interest of safety for all concerned. The City has been making every effort, including engaging community structures, to address the safety concerns and the service to Site C informal settlement will resume tomorrow, Wednesday 22 April.
The cases have been reported to SAPS. Staff have been offered trauma counselling.
These criminal acts cannot be tolerated as a handful of opportunists are hijacking an essential service aimed to assist vulnerable communities. Residents in Site C receive water via standpipes and this service aimed to enhance their access to water.
In the meantime, residents in the informal settlements across the City are reminded to:
- adhere to the recommended 1,5 metre physical distancing while in the queue, a practical way of doing this is by standing sideways and stretching both arms out in between you and the person next to you.
- wash their hands regularly using soap before and after handling the taps, as well as after use on shared facilities such as the communal toilets. (How to make a squeezy bottle and tippy tap)
During the delivery of water to the community, Water and Sanitation staff also reiterate the messaging of City Health officials in terms of maintaining hygiene practices of hand washing after sneezing, coughing or touching surfaces in public places.
I would like to thank our dedicated teams who are doing everything possible to ensure the stepped-up delivery of basic services during this time, as part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19.
General information about the water trucks:
- They are owned by the City or its existing contractors and are operated at a cost of approximately R200 000 per day.
- The different trucks have varying carrying capacity and distribute between 144 000 litres and 584 000 litres of water per day in total.
- They are filled at specified depots with municipal water that supply drinking water to households and standpipes via the formal reticulation network. Alternatively, they extract water from standpipes at designated water depots and from fire hydrants close to the community. This water is routinely tested for compliance with SANS 241 standards (drinking water quality criteria), and ad hoc testing is conducted on the contents of the trucks.
- The water tanker schedule has been shared with relevant stakeholders, and printed schedules are placed at strategic points within the respective areas.
It is also important for our residents to note the following:
- The City’s water trucks are only used to transport drinking water, and are cleaned according to World Health Organisation guidelines.
- Hoses and reels used are stored in a sealed container.
- All trucks are water tight.
- The trucks are made of suitable material for the storage of drinking water.
- The hired trucks were all used in the Food and Beverage industry and certificates of compliance from the Contractor can be made available.