Makhanda is facing a water crisis, with ongoing drought, vandalised infrastructure and poor planning all contributing to the situation as residents and businesses bear the brunt.
Though other parts of SA have been suffering from a lack of water, particularly in Johannesburg over the past three weeks, much closer to home, Frontier Country has been without water for six weeks.
Residents and businesses are forced to buy water from private sources, and when the taps have had water it has been a dark brown muddy colour and the municipality has advised consumers to boil it before use.
The municipality said Makhanda had been without water since early January due to multiple cases of vandalism and theft as well as an ongoing drought.
But businesspeople and residents disagree, citing poor management of infrastructure as the cause of the outage.
Makhanda Business and Residents’ Association vice-chair Thomas Stone said that without a functioning water system, businesses were struggling.
“The B&Bs are full of first-year students and their parents, what impression does that give?
“If we had a properly run municipality there would be people from outside willing to invest in this city,” he said.
“People who are trying to sell their properties can’t realise the values they bought them for.
“We could be a little tourist town but our municipality is killing us and water is unfortunately just one of the ways they are doing it.”
Complaints of leaks on the main supply for the town have also been reported since at least 15 years ago, and residents say their pleas to the municipality for help have fallen on deaf ears.
Makhanda has three dams that feed water into the town.
Ward councillor Geoff Embling said there were alternatives that could be put in place to mitigate the situation.
“From a few years ago, the western side of Makhanda has been drawing water directly from Howiesons Poort Dam via Howiesons Poort pump station.
“Howiesons Poort Dam has become very low, and at the end of last year the municipality finally woke up to the fact that the dam was low and it began pumping water from Settlers Dam to Howiesons Poort Dam.
“Settlers Dam is over 90% full, and it holds a vast amount of water, between seven to eight times the capacity of Howiesons Poort.”
Retired civil engineer and resident Peter Sturrock said there was more than enough water available for Makhanda.
“We have an endless supply from the Gariep Dam on the eastern side, and we have enough water in Settlers Dam for a year but getting it into the taps is the problem,” Sturrock said.
“In 2024, we were headed the same way, but in November 2024 we had heavy rains which filled the dams up a bit and kept us out of the mud.
“I think that’s what the municipality had hoped for this year but it doesn’t always happen like that.”
Sturrock said water had been pumped from Settlers Dam into Howiesons Poort Dam from October, but without the November rains in 2025, the Howiesons Poort Dam ran dry in the beginning of January.
“The pumps between dams are too small to handle the demand.
“The municipality should really increase its capacity pumping from the one dam to the other.”
Makana municipal spokesperson Anele Mjekula said the municipality had acted proactively and responsibly to ensure the implementation of safeguards to protect the scarce commodity.
“Over the span of several months, we have experienced significantly below-average rainfall when compared to historical norms, which placed increasing pressure on available sources,” Mjekula said.
“We shall continue focusing on upgrading and expanding water treatment works, reservoirs and pump stations across Makhanda.
“These projects are specifically designed to build resilience against increasingly erratic rainfall patterns and growing demand while ensuring long-term storage and sustainability of the supply system.”
Meanwhile, Embling said hundreds of millions of rand had been spent on the eastern supply.
However, for several years, the project was yet to be completed.
“It is unbelievable, though, how badly this project has been managed, and the latest information from experts is that it will be at least another year before this can be achieved.”
Embling also mentioned a R2.7m custom-built pump that had been paid for in 2022 but had still not been installed due to the cost of transporting it to the Eastern Cape.
Mjekula said the municipality had paid the supplier for the pump.
“The municipality is working on delivery arrangements of the pump, which are expected to be concluded soon.”
However, Mjekula’s commitments brought little solace to residents and business owners, many of whom have had to source their own supply.
Throughout the day, different shapes and sizes of tankers can be seen buzzing around the town, with water being distributed by trucks, bakkies, tractors and even donkeys.
A business owner, who did not want to be named, said he was spending R12,000 a week on water bought from private suppliers to keep his laundromat business afloat.
“We can’t raise our prices; we have contracts that have a fixed pricing.
“There is nothing else we can do but bring water in.
“This business supports 18 families. We have to keep going.”
He said over the last six weeks the laundromat had used a tank and transported 1,000 litres an hour to keep the machines working.
A resident, who also did not want to be named, said it was a daily struggle.
“Imagine not having water in your house for six weeks.
“We have been fortunate enough to be able to afford a pump that now sends water from our pool into the toilets and the showers.
“I really feel for the people who don’t have the money to buy a pump to help them.”
Another resident said the situation was nothing new.
“Over the last 15 or more years we have learnt to get used to this.
“It’s sad to say but this has become normal for us.
“Everyone has had to buy water tanks and rely on rainwater to keep the taps at home running.”
Though hospitals and clinics had also run dry, Eastern Cape health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said all healthcare facilities had been equipped with water tanks.
“The clinics are assisted by Gift of the Givers. They fill our tanks on request.”
He said the town’s only hospital was also fitted with tanks which had helped during the crisis.
Eastern Cape education spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima said schooling had fortunately not been affected in the region.
“We have an understanding with the municipality regarding the refilling of school water tanks when there are shortages.
“The municipality has made an undertaking to keep the tanks filled at the 15 schools in the region.”
Aside from the drought and crumbling infrastructure, vandalism and theft had played a major role in the current crisis, the municipality said.
“The municipality loses millions a year to vandalism and replacing the same cables and power supply infrastructure repeatedly.
“We would like to call on law-enforcement agencies to please work with us in addressing this issue.
“A string of criminal cases have been opened but nothing seems to deter the relentless cable thieves.
“We have engaged local law-enforcement agencies about this rampant vandalism and even beefed up security around our infrastructure but cases seem to increase instead of going down.”
However, police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa said no cases involving vandalism and theft of essential water infrastructure had been reported from June 2025 to date.
“The police did receive reports from residents relating to theft of pipes and cables,” Mawisa said.
“On a weekly basis, compliance inspections are being conducted at second-hand dealers and scrapyards.
“Intelligence-driven crime prevention patrols are being conducted on days, and at times, and in areas identified through crime pattern analysis.”
Mawisa also confirmed that on February 12, two registered scrapyard dealers were arrested in a collaborative operation between the Makhanda Crime Prevention Unit and Makhanda Highway Patrol Unit.
A man, 54, and woman, 35, were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property valued at about R16,000, including copper cables, pipes and wires.
They are due to appear in the Makhanda magistrate’s court on Monday.
Residents said the plastic above-ground water meters installed in June 2025 had been targeted by criminals on a daily basis.
They estimated that more than 100 of these meters had been vandalised in the last three weeks.
Mjekula said that an alternating water supply would commence this week, with a one-day-on, one-day-off schedule.
“Amatola Water, the implementing agent, as well as the consulting agency, and the contractor, met the municipality on Friday to brief it on the work that’s going to be undertaken.
“The contractor will begin with site establishment on Monday.
“Part of what is expected during this phase of the upgrade is to ensure the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works is able to produce 20 megalitres a day.”
The town requires 18ML a day for residents, businesses, schools, universities, hospitals and clinics. — The Herald
