Residents of Hoedspruit will be without water for a week due to poor planning, neglect and failure to maintain water infrastructure in the area.
The current water infrastructure is aging and dilapidated and has resulted in constant prolonged water disruptions. The current water reservoir in use was built for use by the Hoedspruit Air Force Base, but also provides water to Hoedspruit. The town has continued to grow and the Mopani District Municipality (MDM) and Maruleng Local Municipality (MLM) have failed to keep up with the water infrastructure development required to meet the town’s needs.
This failure to invest in the water infrastructure has been compounded by the inconsistent maintenance of equipment at the Air Force Base. The Air Force Base water purification plant receives water from the two alternating Essex pumps directly out of the Blyde River and eventually, due to lack of maintenance the Department of Public Works installed a backup pump in the Blyde irrigation pipe system.
The two Essex pumps have fallen into a state of disrepair and the backup Parma pump has become the main provider of water to the purification plant of the Air Force base. Now critical maintenance that started on Sunday 5 July 2026 resulted in the irrigation system that includes the backup pump, being shut down for 48 – 72 hours. The maintenance of the back-up pump and failure to maintain the Essex pumps means there will be no water pumped to the reservoir and it is estimated that the water will only be fully restored by Friday at the earliest.
The neglect of water infrastructure and poor planning threatens the economic outlook of the area. Hoedspruit with all its businesses, such as lodges, restaurants, supermarkets, health facilities, as well as all residential estates and households connected will be without water for five days.
The mismanagement of the water infrastructure has left the system on the brink of collapse and very soon homes and businesses will experience water shortages on a daily basis. The municipalities have failed to develop their own water system and to create any new infrastructure to service Hoedspruit town and urgent attention is needed. The DA will write a letter to the Department of Public Works requesting that at least one of the Essex pumps is finally repaired and in working order to prevent water shortages.
The DA is committed to ensuring that the water infrastructure in Hoedspruit is well maintained in order to keep up with the town’s water needs.