Picture: A water canal along Vaalharts area/Generic
By OBAKENG MAJE
18 October 2024- A boy (13) from Bonita Park Informal Settlements in Hartswater, allegedly drowned in a canal on Tuesday afternoon. It is alleged that, the deceased was swimming along with his friends when he was washed away.
The North West police spokesperson in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati cluster, Warrant Officer Tryphosa van Rooyen said, the body of the deceased was retrieved in a water canal in Maphoitsile village, in Taung on Thursday.
“The police are investigating a case of inquest,” she said.
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Vaalharts Water User Association (WUA) said, they would like to warn communities living near water canals to not swim or conduct any recreational activities in such moving bodies of water as they pose high risks of drowning.
The Department of Water and Sanitation spokesperson, Wisane Mavasa said they urge parents and communities to keep children away from running water as it poses endangerment to their lives.
“This follows a drowning incident of a boy from Bonita Park, an Informal Settlement located along the Vaalharts Main Canal, in Hartswater. It is reported that on the day at around 4pm, the boy disappeared under water, while swimming in the canal.
“The police were alerted and their divers retrieved the body. It should be noted that the canal is running at full capacity as the WUA had undertaken maintenance over the past weekend on dams in the Taung area,” said Mavasa.
He further said the water is currently running at 1.3 metres per second in speed, and volume can go up to 100 000 cubic metres per hour. Mavasa added that this means the water levels cannot be dropped at this time to ensure that dams with low levels recover, and the municipalities and irrigators continue to have access to water.
“As soon as it is possible to lower water without the risk of putting lives in danger due to no access to water, it will be effected.
“The Vaalharts Main Canal stretches about 140 kilometres from the Vaal River at Warrenton in the Northern Cape, passing through the towns of Jan Kempdorp, Hartswater, Magogong, Taung and ends at the Pudimoe Water Treatment Works in Pudimoe, which ultimately treat and transfer potable water to Vryburg in North West,” said Mavasa.
He said the canal is part of the Vaalharts Water Scheme, which has about 1200 kilometres of canals managed by the WUA, of which the Vaalharts Main Canal is the longest and largest.
“Drowning incidents are prone around canals and other water bodies during summer season, where temperatures are high and members of the community seek to cool off.
“The department would like to appeal to community members to desist from swimming or fishing in canals as it is dangerous to do so, and this is in the interest of their safety,” he said.
Mavasa said the DWS and the Vaalharts WUA has put up No Swimming signs along the canal to caution the public on the dangers of swimming in canals and regularly conduct public education and community awareness campaigns on dam and canal safety.
He said awareness campaigns are also conducted for school kids, teachers and parents as well as interactions with the municipality.
“The WUA also provides training to volunteers in communities around such infrastructure to be lifesavers and provide them with the necessary life-saving equipment to enable them to assist members of the community who find themselves in life threatening situations around water bodies,” said Mavasa.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Sello Seitlholo plans to visit the area on 19 October 2024, to assess the situation.
The Guardian 