Cape Town – The provincial government in conjunction with the South African Red Cross Society has already delivered 2 000 litres of bottled water to the Beaufort West area, amid growing concern over the town’s ongoing water crisis.
According to reports, Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell warned that the situation in Beaufort West is very serious and is expected to worsen as the town’s water reclamation plant was shut down for critical maintenance work.
The reclamation plant had worked for two months without maintenance and is at risk of failure if not serviced.
The plant provides an estimated 20% of the town’s drinking water.
Boreholes provide the rest via town reservoirs, but these reserves are quickly dwindling.
The plant was expected to be returned to service on Monday and reservoirs are expected to be back to full capacity by Thursday.
The municipality is also implementing water shedding to allow for the reservoirs to recover.
In a notice online, the municipality said reservoirs 1, 2 and 3, were standing at 13%, 28.7% and 11.3% capacity respectively.
The municipality is distributing water to the worst-affected areas and has appealed to the public to check water shedding schedules to know when their area will be affected.

It will be at least a few days before users of the Vavenby Community Water System know if they can again use the the water.
A semi-truck crashed into the North Thompson River 31 kilometres north of Vavenby, causing diesel fuel to leak into the river upstream of the community, which is about one hour and 40 minutes north of Kamloops on Highway 5 North.
Notes from a Thompson-Nicola Regional District meeting updating users of the water supply stated officials planned to remove the truck and trailer from the river and assess any damage on Monday.
If test results of the water system show no sign of contaminants in the system, it is expected Interior Health will lift its do-not-use notice.
TNRD Electoral Area A director Carol Schaffer told KTW once the truck is removed from the river, the Ministry of Environment will begin testing.
The vehicle was hauling meat, she said.
All water users are advised to use bottled water or an alternate source of water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, bathing and food preparation until further notice.
Boiling the water will not make it safe.
Residents who draw their water from the system should check for signs of diesel fuel, such as a sheen or fuel odour.
Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell told KTW his community — located downstream of Vavenby — is not impacted by the spill as the town doesn’t draw its water from the North Thompson River.

Around 250 people in Vavenby, B.C., can’t use their tap water after a semi-trailer crash spilled diesel into the North Thompson River.
Interior Health said the crash happened 10 kilometres south of Avola early Sunday morning.
As a result, the health authority has placed the Vavenby Community Water System, which serves over 100 connections, under a Do Not Use order.
A Do Not Use order means water shouldn’t be consumed or used for cooking, cleaning, bathing or even to water plants.
The health authority said impacted Vavenby residents can pick up bottled water and bulk water at the Vavenby Fire Hall.
READ MORE: Diesel spill leaks 1,000 litres into RDCO parking lot Meanwhile, Interior Health said in a media released that residents of a larger area downstream from the crash site should check for possible fuel contamination before using water from the North Thompson River.
The health authority said no one should use the river water if it smells or tastes like fuel.
READ MORE: Small portion of diesel fuel spill enters Thames River: City of London The health authority said the Avola Community Water System is not impacted because it gets water from Avola Creek.
READ MORE: Tugboat carrying large fuel tank sinks in Fraser River Schaffer said that during the previous incident, the water supply was shut off for two or three days.
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One resident, Andrew Parsonage, from Central Avenue, raised his concerns on an online community forum after he noticed his cups of tea had a ‘rusty’ or ‘liquorice’ taste to them.
He has reported his concerns to United Utilities who confirmed they will visit his home to investigate.
Andrew Crowe, from Bamber Avenue, near the Green Man sculpture, said: "We had the same this morning!
Couldn’t work it out – got fresh milk, used a different kettle … still tasted awful."
Others had bought new kettles to try and solve their water issues, but were left puzzled when the peculiar taste remained.
Others reported that their bath water ‘smelled funny’ and one person said they had suffered stomach problems since moving to the area in August last year.
Some families said they have even started using bottled water or filters because their tap water is ‘undrinkable’.
A number of people said they had reported the issue to United Utilities and engineers had visited their homes to test their water.
According to one resident, the water firm had carried out checks at his home but could not find any issue with the supply.
But according to United Utiltiies, there are no known issues affecting the water supply in Buckshaw Village.

For years, Newtown resident Anthony Tucker has been paying between $60-90 a month for water he doesn’t feel is safe to drink.
We’ve been doing this for many years," Tucker said.
Montgomery Water Works first began to alleviate residents’ concerns on June 27 this year, when they arrived on Yu’s street to test the water and open a fire hydrant to flush the line.
And yet, as residents carrying jugs of brown water to meetings with Water Works have found, nobody feels safe drinking that water.
"When we first checked it, the chlorine was low because the water was sitting there, but we’ve added chlorine to make sure it’s ample and checked it before and after," Hanan said.
The neighborhood’s continuing water issues have also corroded residents’ trust of the city and cast a shadow of fear across Newtown.
When asked if they would drink water the brown water in Newtown, Rizzo said, "Yes."
"What about the pipes further up?
What about that water?
You’ll have the same water coming back in these pipes," Tucker said.

One person is dead and patients of Spectrum Health Pennock Hospital in Hastings with flu like symptoms are being told to get tested for Legionnaires’ disease.
The Barry-Eaton District Health Department confirmed Thursday that the Legionella bacteria has been detected in the water supply of the Spectrum Health Pennock Hospital in Hastings, according to WWMT.
The testing is part of a national protocol that was triggered following a second patient being diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease.
Despite tests showing that Legionella bacteria was present in the hospital’s water system, there has been no confirmed reports of the the disease being contracted from Spectrum Health Pennock Hospital in Hastings.
It can be treated with antibiotics, but one out of 10 people die from the disease.
Symptoms include: cough shortness of breath muscle aches headache fever The first Legionnaires’ disease diagnosis came in September with the second patient being diagnosed in November.
Testing for the hospital’s water took place on December 18, 2018.
The patient that died was elderly with other possible complications.
The second patient was treated and released.
At this time a spokesperson from Spectrum Health Pennock Hospital says that the hospital is working with local and state health departments, making plans to install a new water filtration system and testing patients at the hospital for Legionnaires’ disease.

Christchurch’s Princess Margaret Hospital water contaminated, unsafe to drink 24 Dec, 2018 5:56pm Quick Read Patients and staff at a Christchurch hospital are being provided with bottled water after the site’s drinking supply was found to be contaminated.
Canterbury District Health Board confirmed tonight that water at Princess Margaret Hospital, which houses mental health patients including mothers and babies, was unsafe to drink.
In a statement, it said a contaminant was identified during routine water testing of the hospital’s private supply.
"As a precaution, we have advised staff, consumers and visitors not to drink the water from taps, zips or plumbed-in water coolers until further notice," it said.
It was providing bottled drinking water and are treating the site’s water supply with chlorine.
It said the measures would stay in place until the issue was resolved.
Princess Margaret was due to be decommissioned last year.
It has been described as "derelict" and "appallingly depressing", "substandard" and "not appropriate".
The hospital was opened in 1959 and is situated at the foot of the Port Hills, in the south of Christchurch on Cashmere Road.

Austin Resource Recovery saw the number of recyclables collected in October increase 8.7 percent from the same month last year, the Austin American-Statesman reported .
Austin officials told residents on Oct. 22 to boil their tap water before drinking it after rain and flooding overloaded water treatment plants’ capacity.
Austin handed out roughly 626,000 gallons of bottled water over four days.
Ron Romero, the city recycling center’s division manager for operations, said the amount of plastic recycled in three weeks following the crisis was "just crazy."
The center picked up roughly 5,230 tons of recycling in October, up from around 4,800 tons the same month last year.
"It was really a surprise.
"I don’t think they necessarily heeded that advice."
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As of late Saturday, five of the eight properties damaged by the water main break had been designated safe to access, and residents were given the option of returning to those homes, DWP officials said.
The water main break was initially reported at 5 a.m. Friday at 55th Street and Towne Avenue, causing flooding and a large sinkhole, damaging homes and leaving some vehicles fully or partially buried in mud.
Initial test results are expected as early as Sunday.
Services were also available at the Fred Roberts Recreation Center.
“The shutdown process for the 24-inch diameter pipe had to be done carefully so as to not damage other pipes in the area,” according to an LADWP statement.
“Water system crews and water quality staff have determined that due to loss of pressure in the ruptured pipe that it must be disinfected in order to ensure the highest water quality standards.
As a result, crews have distributed bottled water to area residents this (Friday) evening as well as placed large water stations in the area to assist residents with household water and sanitary needs until water service can be safely restored.” Sections of 55th and 56th streets were closed to traffic between Main Street and Avalon Boulevard.
Firefighters assisted some residents in getting out of their homes past the water that flooded their driveways and yards.
“The leak has caused property damage in the area, which will be assessed by on-site claim agents,” the DWP said.
Those whose vehicles were towed were directed to call US Towing at (323) 870-7100.

(File Photo) Austin’s recycling center became overwhelmed by a spike in recycled plastic items in the weeks after the city ended its boil-water notice following flooding that filled lakes with silt, mud and debris.
Austin Resource Recovery saw the number of recyclables collected in October increase 8.7 percent from the same month last year, the Austin American-Statesman reported .
The center’s data show November’s recyclables jumped 5 percent from the previous year.
Austin officials told residents on Oct. 22 to boil their tap water before drinking it after rain and flooding overloaded water treatment plants’ capacity.
Austin handed out roughly 626,000 gallons of bottled water over four days.
(Published Friday, Dec. 21, 2018) Ron Romero, the city recycling center’s division manager for operations, said the amount of plastic recycled in three weeks following the crisis was "just crazy."
The center picked up roughly 5,230 tons of recycling in October, up from around 4,800 tons the same month last year.
The center also used additional trucks to recover the high volume, while residents had recycling carts overflowing with plastics and set up extra boxes along their curbs.
"It was really a surprise.
"I don’t think they necessarily heeded that advice."