HERMANUS WATER CRISIS: THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY?

Is the Hermanus water crisis simply a money making opportunity for the Overstrand municipality?

Read on and see how the Overstrand residence are being fleeced by the bloated Overstrand municipality with a 176% increase in Water Infrastructure charges.

Is this proactive strategic planning or gross missmanagement?

The Auditor General notes that material losses, from water in the Overstrand Municipality amounted to R9 Million! The source of these losses were mainly unmetered connections in Hermanus, and broken and leaking pipes. Water (mis) management in Bettys Bay and Voelklip account for losses of up to 60%

The Audit Committee comments that water has become a major crisis in the Overstrand, a fact that The Hermanus Ratepayers Association pointed out to a scoffing Overstrand Council and Municipality in April 2005!

Of course, we have had a very dry summer, so what has the OM done? Because of the dangerously low level of De Bos Dam (28% as of 06.03.11) there is indeed a need to conserve water, but conserving water reduces Municipal income and putting up the price of water does not solve the water shortage problem. What it does though is to feed the exorbitantly high municipal operating cost!

According to the OM in December 2010 there was a 25% decrease in the water sold at the then rate of R7.385 per kilo litre that resulted in a loss of R34.040 per day! But then in January 2011 with the tariff hiked to R9.60 per kilo litre and despite a drop of 30% in the volume of water sold, hey presto, the revenue was R1.110m for January – an improvement from December – but still a loss of R14.800 per day – equivalent to R444.000 per month before restrictions were imposed.

Because the OM says ‘the tariff acts as a catalyst for water saving and simultaneously prevents a huge financial loss to the municipality’.

SO EXPECT FURTHER INCREASES with enforcement of Restriction Tariff 2 at R11.82/Kl so OM can balance its books at the ratepayers expense!

What we are being charged for water and why should be a major concern to voters in the next up coming election. We pay more than double what Mossel Bay does for their water despite Mossel Bay having an expensive (implied) desalination plant.