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C. H. Vhumbunu
and sustained access to water within communities. One official from Beaufort West
Local Municipality confided;
In Beaufort West, the townships of Murraysburg, Kwa-Mandlenkosi, Merweville and
Nelspoort were hard hit by drought which exposed over 50,000 residents to water stress.
Our local dam, Leeu-Gamka Dam, along the Leeuw River completely dried up. People
resorted to the 32 boreholes we could manage to deliver since we did not have much funds.
Communities managed to get together and establish teams of youths and elders who would
control these water points to avoid vandalism, ensure equitable water excess and maintain
order when people queue to fill up their buckets. It worked well because there were very
few negative reports. There were cases were communities would use their own resources to
fence and secure these boreholes.
Thus, from the respondents, the main community-based water management strategies adopted related to the use and protection of water sources by community
members in order to ensure equity, fairness, and sustainability in water usage against a
background of looming Day Zero. What can be observed is that the community-based
water management strategies were more organic, community-initiated, and bottomup in the Western Cape Province rural areas than they were in urban areas were the
Municipalities initiated most of the strategies and residents would complement these
through community strategies for sustainability.
11.5.2 Challenges in Implementing Community-Based Water
Management Strategies
From the responses, the community-based water management strategies implemented in Western Cape Province during the drought of 2017/2018 varied from
one community to the other.
However, one of the most common challenges was conflicts relating to the use of
water points or access to water sources. In Beaufort West Local Municipality, there
were conflicts relating to clash over prioritization as some residents fetched water
from boreholes for their animals while accusations of water theft were common. An
official from Beaufort West Local Municipality confirmed;
There was a reported cases of water theft and conflicts over water use in villages and communities mostly outside the main towns, especially those involved in agriculture, keeping goats,
lamb and cattle. Whilst a number of farmers came from as far as Mpumalanga Province to
deliver animal feed bales, there were arising conflicts on allocation of the animal feed. Some
farmers and residents clashed as non-farmers felt it was unfair for the farmers to take huge
quantities of water for their animals at the expense of human beings. We should understand
communities are not homogenous entities, interests and priorities differ. Given this, conflicts
are plenty.
The same challenges were also reported to have been experienced in different
local municipalities that make up Cape Winelands District Municipality, Garden
Route District Municipality, Central Karoo District Municipality, West Coast District
C. H. Vhumbunu
and sustained access to water within communities. One official from Beaufort West
Local Municipality confided;
In Beaufort West, the townships of Murraysburg, Kwa-Mandlenkosi, Merweville and
Nelspoort were hard hit by drought which exposed over 50,000 residents to water stress.
Our local dam, Leeu-Gamka Dam, along the Leeuw River completely dried up. People
resorted to the 32 boreholes we could manage to deliver since we did not have much funds.
Communities managed to get together and establish teams of youths and elders who would
control these water points to avoid vandalism, ensure equitable water excess and maintain
order when people queue to fill up their buckets. It worked well because there were very
few negative reports. There were cases were communities would use their own resources to
fence and secure these boreholes.
Thus, from the respondents, the main community-based water management strategies adopted related to the use and protection of water sources by community
members in order to ensure equity, fairness, and sustainability in water usage against a
background of looming Day Zero. What can be observed is that the community-based
water management strategies were more organic, community-initiated, and bottomup in the Western Cape Province rural areas than they were in urban areas were the
Municipalities initiated most of the strategies and residents would complement these
through community strategies for sustainability.
11.5.2 Challenges in Implementing Community-Based Water
Management Strategies
From the responses, the community-based water management strategies implemented in Western Cape Province during the drought of 2017/2018 varied from
one community to the other.
However, one of the most common challenges was conflicts relating to the use of
water points or access to water sources. In Beaufort West Local Municipality, there
were conflicts relating to clash over prioritization as some residents fetched water
from boreholes for their animals while accusations of water theft were common. An
official from Beaufort West Local Municipality confirmed;
There was a reported cases of water theft and conflicts over water use in villages and communities mostly outside the main towns, especially those involved in agriculture, keeping goats,
lamb and cattle. Whilst a number of farmers came from as far as Mpumalanga Province to
deliver animal feed bales, there were arising conflicts on allocation of the animal feed. Some
farmers and residents clashed as non-farmers felt it was unfair for the farmers to take huge
quantities of water for their animals at the expense of human beings. We should understand
communities are not homogenous entities, interests and priorities differ. Given this, conflicts
are plenty.
The same challenges were also reported to have been experienced in different
local municipalities that make up Cape Winelands District Municipality, Garden
Route District Municipality, Central Karoo District Municipality, West Coast District