By Dideka Njemla
Elderly couple Valerie and Michael Tweedie are currently experiencing a persistent water crisis that has exacerbated their health. Since earlier this year, 83-year-old Michael has made several attempts to call for assistance from municipality officials and has been met with a lack of urgency.
He described their current situation as a critical condition. Michael said their property on Bennett Street in Oatlands has been getting low-pressure water since the beginning of May. “There isn’t an official I haven’t reached out to. Some of them have responded and asked for our address, but no one shows up to address the issue.” Despite the municipality’s inaction affecting the Tweedies’ basic hygiene and sanitation, Valerie recalls when her husband spotted a Makana Municipality van next door and pleaded with officials to assess their situation. “My husband went there and said, ‘Please come have a look.’ They left without coming. It’s a continuous fighting battle,” she said.
“I know there are leaks everywhere, but this has been going on for four months. What do we do?” asked Michael. Valerie interjected and said, “We are not young anymore, and it costs us money to have our tanks filled because we haven’t had rain.” The property, which has two dwellings, is home to six people. “There is my daughter and her two children, and all of us live off this one water meter,” said Valerie. To show the lack of water pressure in their home, Michael proceeded to the kitchen and opened the tap. “If you put one tap open, it will come out quickly, and seconds later it will slowly go off.” The kitchen tap continued to drip while Michael went outside to open another tap, demonstrating how the water flow will eventually come to a complete stop with two taps running simultaneously. “This is the best water flow we can get. What’s upsetting is that it’s just our house.” Michael continued to say he believed that there may be a damaged valve in the swamp on the verge of their property. “We have no idea what’s down there because the municipality has never excavated that swamp, so it could really be something in there,” he said. The Tweedie family said they have made attempts to hire private plumbers to assess their issue; however, several of them have declined, saying that it was an issue that needed to be addressed by the municipality. “There’s no solution to this. We need them to come look at the swamp and fix our water pressure.”
Michael said, “I have reached out to everyone. We have been living like this for months, and it’s affected how we carry out basic daily activities. I know there are water problems around town, but this is ridiculous.” A tearful Valerie described this experience as traumatic, adding that she cannot handle it anymore. “I’m not well, and my granddaughter has just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I’m a really strong woman and I look after my family. But I can’t even look after myself anymore.” Valerie shared how this ordeal has impacted their quality of life and said, “We are not actually living.” Valerie further said their water concern has been an additional expense. “My son brought another tank, which we’ve been trying to eke out. Eventually, I’m going to ask him if he can afford to get the tank filled again because there is no rain. So, we are eking out.” Valerie described this issue as one that compromised their dignity and cleanliness. “I don’t shower every day, but my poor daughter goes to work every day, so she has to shower. My grandchildren have to shower every day, and they are both at school, so they always have school washing.” She continued to say, “It’s debilitating. It’s an experience that has honestly crippled us.” Valerie said she has been affected emotionally as she now gets a lot more anxious. “At the moment, both our tanks are getting quite low, so then the tension builds up and so does my anxiety. That’s when I don’t sleep and rely on sleeping tablets to sleep. I’m living on the edge, and I can’t live like this any longer.”
