Overseas guests get double whammy

GEORGE NEWS - Wilderness Manor in Waterside Road was hit by a double whammy when the guest house was left without electricity and water for one whole Sunday afternoon while they were having overseas guests.

The electricity outage was during one of a series of unplanned outages that George Municipality had to contend with during March. On the same day, a water pipeline burst.

'Very negative experience'

According to the disgruntled owner, JD Janse van Rensburg, they have been without water a number of times in the recent past due to bursts in the 1,2km old asbestos pipeline.

"It should have been replaced long ago, not only because of the state it is in, but also because the asbestos is a health hazard." (In 2016 George Herald reported on bursts in the same line that also affected the guest house.) Janse van Rensburg said following the lifting of Covid restrictions, they were relieved to again start getting overseas guests. "We naturally want them to enjoy their stay and we put our best foot forward, but that is not possible without water and electricity. Our guests had a very negative experience and I do not know if they will ever return."

Janse van Rensburg also had their tap water tested and the laboratory's results showed that it did not meet the standards for potable water. (The turbidity, iron content and colour measurements did not comply.)

"The reservoir dams in Wilderness were being cleaned earlier this week (middle of March).

"I was wondering why this was done and if there was perhaps a problem with the water quality."

Muni 'goes extra mile'

Responding to Janse van Rensburg's complaints, senior municipal communi-cations officer Ntobeko Mangqwengqwe said pipes for replacement in the George municipal water reticulation networks are prioritised according to a pipe prioritisation matrix, and planned upgrades are scheduled accordingly.

"Pipes in our network are old and most of the pipes are asbestos cement. The municipality never had health risks due to the transfer of water in their asbestos cement pipelines.

"Pipe bursts do occur, due to pressure fluctuations during night flows. The directorate will investigate this matter further, especially the asbestos cement pipeline referred to in Waterside Road."

Referring to the cleaning of the reservoirs, he said this is common practice as supply pipe failures do occur and sediment can be carried over to the reservoirs. "Daily, weekly and monthly water quality tests are performed at the water treatment facility in Wilderness and water is treated to Sans and the department of water and sanitation's Blue Drop requirements."

Mangqwengqwe said the municipality recognises the importance of businesses' contribution to the local economy and does its best to create a conducive environment for them to thrive. "We would like to express our heartfelt empathy to businesses and individual households for these undesirable experiences caused by these crises."

He said the municipality always does its best and goes the extra mile to manage a crisis situation.

The quality of the tap water after the pipe burst made it impossible for Wilderness Manor to wash linen on site.