Letters | Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink

“Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink,” lamented the Ancient Mariner. Someone atThe Witnesshas an odd sense of humour. On the front page yesterday, we find, side by side, three items on the endless water issues in the city.

The headline item tells us that Elandskop residents are now reduced to drinking rain water or whatever other water is available as their community has no water supply, piped or tanker-delivered. Another item tells us that the municipality is spending R17million on outsourcing tankers to complement the unseen tankers they already have. Of course, no mention is made of the shadowy “water tanker mafia”.

Outsourcing, say our leaders, is preferable as the effect is immediate instead of likely delays in purchasing vehicles. The third item, the municipality’s slap in the face to the waterless community, is a colour photograph of many thousands of litres of potable water being sprayed about gaily in an effort to spruce up the city hall environs. Imminent elections are a great inducement to long overdue action. I suggest that those high-pressure hoses be directed to the interior of the city hall where there is a more pressing need for cleansing.