The decision by the eThekwini Municipality to curtail the amount of water supplied to consumers has outraged Durban residents who have accused the City of holding them responsible for its own failures.
The metro announced on Monday that it plans to restrict the amount of water that flows into Durban homes and businesses.
This comes as a result of a directive from the Department of Water and Sanitation that the uMngeni-uThukela Water Board must reduce the amount of water it extracts from the water systems.
This directive has a direct impact on eThekwini, which consumes the lion’s share of the water supplied by the water board.
eThekwini head of water and sanitation Ednick Msweli told the councillors on Monday that Durban homes were using a lot more water per individual compared to other areas.
However, Durban residents and water experts said this was a preventable crisis.
Jeeva Pillay of the Umdloti-oThongathi Catchment Management Forum said before the city implemented the curtailment measures, it should first have identified how it was losing water.
“For the municipality to say that the residents are using too much water does not make sense when you consider that areas like oThongathi and Phoenix had been going without water for extended periods.
“We know that the municipality loses about 60% of its water, that is non-revenue water lost, either through theft –many people are stealing, even in the wealthy suburbs there are people stealing – (or leaks). But the residents cannot be held accountable for water lost through leaks,” he said.
He said installing restrictors on water meters was no small task as the metro’s workers would have to go house to house and geotag those meters to know where they are when they need to remove them.
“Before taking on such a big undertaking, they should have checked the areas that are using the most water and start there in addressing the problem,” he said.
Alice Govender of the Phoenix Civic and Ratepayers Association said it was concerning to learn of the proposed water cuts.
“The assertion by mayor (Cyril) Xaba that every effort was made to avert the situation is ludicrous. Sadly, mayor Xaba is left ‘holding the can’ after the dismal performances by former mayor (Mxolisi) Kaunda and those he entrusted to get the job done.”
She said the current situation cannot be blamed solely or predominantly on the failing infrastructure.
“Governance by those tasked with the job is non-existent,” said Govender.
Professor Faizal Bux, director of the Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at the Durban University of Technology, said the city had failed to act to prevent the crisis.
“In recent times the metro’s non-revenue water has exceeded 50%, which is above the national and global average.
“There is not sufficient evidence to suggest that the metro is doing enough to deal with this problem. This challenge should be prioritised with targeted resource allocation towards an effective maintenance programme for the city’s water distribution networks and addressing illegal connections,” he said.
He said the consumer should not be on the receiving end of inadequate planning by the City.
The Mercury