Botha-Bothe, Oct. 28 — This year, Botha-Bothe District has grappled with severe water shortages, as extreme heat has contributed to the depletion of the main dam supplying water to the town and surrounding communities.
“Around Monday, I noticed the dam was drying up,”Motsamai Mopeli, a local resident explained. “As I approached, I saw fish trapped in the mud by the dam’s edge. I realized I could wade into the dam to catch the fish.” he added that other community members soon joined in, collecting fish for both consumption and sale. “We did this for a few days until we eventually harvested all the fish,” he remarked while searching the dam with friends, hoping to find any remaining fish.
During a recent visit to the dam, a team from the Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) was on-site to repair a water pump that had been clogged by mud. The team explained that people entering the dam to catch fish had disrupted the machine, which pumps water from the dam for treatment and distribution.
“We are here to clear mud from the machine so it can resume pumping water effectively,” a WASCO representative said. “We’ve also dug around the machine to keep it submerged in water. This dam supplies around 70% of the water for communities in and around Botha-Bothe town, and with the current water levels, many residents are likely to experience prolonged shortages.”