Every day siblings Thandolwethu and Anele Buthelezi make an 8km trek to the hand pump at the local communal borehole where they take turns to fill four 20-litre containers. Theirs is always a desperate struggle as it takes up to half an hour for the pint-sized eight- and nine-year-olds to fill one container. Then they have to cart the water in two wheelbarrows back home.That is a nightmare in itself because bigger children lie in wait. "On Monday an older boy took two buckets from us," said a teary-eyed Thandolwethu.story_article_left1There is no one to walk with them to the borehole as their mother comes home very late because she works in Vryheid and their grandmother is not well.This is the hard life in Vryheid, where taps in all 22 wards of AbaQulusi municipality ran dry towards the end of January - because of the drought as well as tension between the municipality and water service employees. The scarcity has resulted in water theft and fights among residents, downgrading of services at Vryheid Provincial Hospital and early closing of schools.Residents fear that if left unchecked, the situation may turn as ugly as it did in Modimolle, Limpopo, where protests over water shortages left people injured three weeks ago.Vryheid, a timber, coal mining and ranching hub with a population of just under 50000, has been among the KwaZulu-Natal towns hardest hit by drought, prompting it to seek assistance from the national government.South Africa is suffering its worst drought in decades, likely to push 50000 people below the poverty line, the World Bank estimates.Several cities have implemented water rationing. But in Vryheid, it would be welcome for another reason. On top of dry taps, residents have been slapped with heavy water bills.story_article_right2"This is insulting. You have no water and then you are told you owe! No ratepayer deserves such treatment," said an angry Fikile from Bhekuzulu Phase 6 township whose bill reflects R600 for February.Buhle Mbatha from Erika township said her water bill was R1200 even though her meter had not been read. "I really do not know what their estimation is based on."Municipal spokesman Arnold Ramodibe said protest action prevented officials from doing their work."The fact of the matter is that residents prevent municipal officials from doing the meter readings. They stone municipal vehicles and threaten to burn them. That makes meter reading very difficult."Phumelele Ziqubu, principal of Bhekuzulu Public School, said the lack of water disrupted learning."This week we had to release the children early on Thursday due to lack of water and the nonarrival of a municipal water tanker. We can only get so much from donated water and we cannot even cook the children's meals."The crisis was exacerbated when aggrieved municipal workers switched off the main valve from Grootgewacht Dam during a pay dispute. It was compounded by the dried-up dams.Ramodibe confirmed the work stoppages "by our water services workers, but the matter was resolved and water was restored".Grootgewacht is one of the three dams the town relies on for its water . While it still has some capacity, the two other dams, Bloemveld and Klipfontein, are chronically dry, with only muddy puddles of water that cannot be pumped or purified.mini_story_image_hright1Gift of the Givers project manager Salim Sayed, whose humanitarian organisation is among those that often donate water in the area, said it saddened him to see people stampeding for water. "This shows the level of desperation among the people. Water sometimes gets stolen and people take other people's water."Many of the victims of water theft and robbery are those travelling on foot to town to fetch water from the Dutch Reformed Church building in Church Street. Unless they have cars, they are often subjected to violent robbery; even their wheelbarrows get taken.The church has installed 15 tanks on its premises and residents from all over come to fetch fresh water, often causing a melee."The water is donated from different areas like Nelspruit, Kempton Park and Ladysmith and arrives in trucks," said church caretaker Johan Pienaar. "We give four 5-litres [containers] for drinking and 50 litres of water for washing. The project has been running for five weeks."olifantn@sundaytimes.co.za..