eThekwini ropes in retired engineers to help tackle Durban’s water crisis
The eThekwini Municipality has met with a group of retired engineers as it embarks on a massive project to help reduce pressure on the City's water supply.
A curtailment project will be put in place for the next 12 months and residents are urged to reduce high consumption. The City said the demand for water in eThekwini far outstrips supply and we continue to plead with all stakeholders both our residential and business customers to work with us to address this challenge.
Some of the measures include installing restrictors on water meters as well, pressure reduction in the reticulation network and metering all unmetered consumers.
Speaking at a joint briefing with uMngeni-uThukela Water this week, eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba said the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) limits the amount of raw water that uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) can abstract from the Mgeni Water Supply System.
"This is to enable continued water availability, including during periods of below-average rainfall," the mayor said.
He explained that the risk of not enforcing the abstraction limit is that, should a drought occur, there would not be sufficient water in the system for uMngeni-uThukela Water to continue providing the eThekwini Municipality with a reliable water supply.
He added that if UUW implements the gradual reduction as planned, the water supply should remain stable, even with below-average rainfall. If there is below average rainfall, any restrictions required would be more manageable.
Xaba said teams will be embarking on a series of site meetings at problematic reservoirs. He added that some of the contributing factors to the high-water usage include rapid urbanisation, ageing infrastructure which causes water leaks and illegal connections.
The mayor said the project will also work on improving turnaround time for leak and burst pipe repairs, disconnection of illegal connections, water rationing and community education.
On Friday, the team will inspect the Ntuzuma water pump station to assess the progress on the work being done to repair and upgrade the pump station.
Last year, the pump station caught fire which affected water supply in many parts of Ntuzuma, KwaMashu and Inanda. The municipality has allocated R56 million for the project and the contractor is on site.
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