News24 | ON THE ROAD | Brown tap water, drugs, no jobs leave Kou-Kamma residents feeling forgotten

• Coldstream residents say brown water, unsuitable for drinking, runs from their taps, forcing them to rely on rainwater instead.
• Ageing infrastructure and sediment issues have worsened water quality, especially after heavy rains.
• Kou-Kamma municipality has acknowledged the problem but offers sparse communication and slow solutions.
• For more politics news, visit News24 Politics.

When residents turn on their household water taps in Coldstream, a small settlement nestled along the Eastern Cape’s Tsitsikamma coast, the water that runs out is the colour of weak rooibos tea.

Even after running the tap for several minutes, the colour improves only slightly, and residents refuse to drink it.

It is common practice for residents to let the water sit in a white plastic bucket on the counter, watching the sediment settle to the bottom before they dare use it – for washing dishes, never for drinking.

Coldstream community leader, Gert van Staden, told News24: “We have been drinking rainwater for so long. The name of Tsitsikamma implies a place of abundant water.

“Yet, when you look at the name of the place, you ask yourself: Why do these people struggle with water, and what is the problem regarding their water supply?”

A Coldstream resident showing News24 the discoloured tap water.

Storm Simpson/News24

Coldstream residents said the water flowing from taps was a trickle at best, most of the time.

Storm Simpson/News24

Coldstream falls under the Kou-Kamma Local Municipality, one of the smallest municipalities in the Sarah Baartman District, serving a community of fewer than 500 residents.

The small community’s calm, leafy setting belies the problems it faces.

Like many rural Eastern Cape towns, it relies on ageing infrastructure that has struggled to keep pace with maintenance demands.

Residents say the brown water is not a new problem – it comes and goes, sometimes clearing for a few weeks before returning, particularly after heavy rains stir up sediment in the supply system.

Through a community notice, according to residents, the municipality has acknowledged water quality challenges in the area, but residents say communication has been sparse and solutions slow.

READ | ON THE ROAD 2026: Potholes and promises – Qwaqwa’s roads reflect a broken municipality

For Van Staden, the daily ritual of boiling and filtering water has become second nature, but he worries about those who cannot afford the workaround, such as buying water and containers to store it.

Coldstream community leader, Gert van Staden.

Storm Simpson/News24

One of the main roads in Coldstream.

Storm Simpson/News24

“We are facing a water crisis. There is a Kou-Kamma [water pipeline] running into the township, but since 2015, it has not really supplied water to our communities. The water supply comes and goes.

“Most of the time, the water actually flows at midnight,” said Van Staden. He said the municipality had previously issued a vague notice that suggested they should boil the water before using it.

READ | ON THE ROAD: Sewage on your doorstep: Government inaction leaves Welkom wallowing in waste

Kuzamakwethu Wulana is one of the residents who has to borrow containers to store water.

Kou-Kamma and the Department of Water and Sanitation were approached for comment on the water issue. They had not responded at the time of writing, but their responses will be added when received.

Coldstream resident Kuzamakwethu Wulana outside his yard.

Storm Simpson/News24

Coldstream residents complained about the smell coming from the landfill site near the village.

Storm Simpson/News24

Blue Drop – red flag

The Kou-Kamma Local Municipality achieved a 22% compliance rate for its Blue Drop status, ranking third-last in the Eastern Cape, according to a local review conducted by the municipality in May 2026, which highlights the municipality’s crisis.

The Blue Drop system is the Department of Water and Sanitation’s incentive-based regulatory programme for monitoring and rating drinking water quality management in South African municipalities.

“The Sarah Baartman district is water-scarce, with no or sporadic rain. Global warming is contributing to weather disasters and the evaporation of already scarce water resources,” the local review said.

The review added: “For poorer households in Kou-Kamma, access to water seems to have worsened due to the unequal water distribution between poor local settlements and the agricultural sector.

Coldstream resident Cedric Primo complained about the unreliable water supply and overflowing septic toilets that he says were placed too close to homes in the area.

Storm Simpson/News24

Primo and his family used the husk of a burnt stove to cook and boil water because electricity is too expensive to use for certain activities.

Storm Simpson/News24

“While alien invasion and bush encroachment in the catchment area (Clarkson) make it difficult to access water sources, old-era asbestos-made water and sanitation infrastructure has negative health consequences and results in water losses from cracks in underground asbestos pipes.”

Meanwhile, Wulana is only 37, but he has given up on voting and the political system.

He said:

I don’t see myself going to vote anymore and I don’t mind who gets my vote or what happens because in the end, I don’t know who is telling the truth or not.

Other problems affecting the small and forgotten community include unemployment and the trap of crystal meth and marijuana for the youth, according to Van Staden. These conditions have fermented disillusionment in Coldstream and neighbouring areas.

The only ray of hope is allegedly “exploitative” farms and firms that operate nearby in the rural hinterland, Wulana said.

Storms River

About 15km away – in Storms River, a tiny village situated in Kou-Kamma – the same problems of unemployment and substance abuse persist.

Storms River village resident Sibusiso Adams.

Storm Simpson/News24

Young resident Sibusiso Adams said if there were more opportunities in the area, they would not have to resort to drugs and petty crime.

He told News24:

I want to stop drugs and to get help, but that’s hard because the authorities never check what it is that we want that will make us feel comfortable besides these negative things.

Ivonne Busabwe said her Expanded Public Works Programme wage of R1 088 cannot cover her needs, adding that she has to travel far to withdraw it, which increases her costs.

She has to travel 50km – to Plettenberg Bay – to withdraw her wages.

“You return with just R50 or R100, part of which you have to set aside for electricity. And how much electricity does that get you? If you buy R100 worth of electricity, it’s somewhere in the range of 20-odd units. That lasts you maybe three or four days,” Busabwe said.

The ANC Parliamentary Constituency Office in Storms River.

Storm Simpson/News24

Storms River Village resident Ivonne Busabwe.

Storm Simpson/News24

She, too, is tired of empty promises from political parties.

“I’m not going to vote for the ANC again. Why would I vote for the ANC? I am tired. The ANC does nothing for me,” she said.