ETHEKWINI residents and ratepayers are blaming the city’s poor management for the upcoming water curtailment plan, which will be implemented for one year from October 10.
Cyril Xaba, eThekwini Mayor, said the curtailment was due to high water usage attributed to rapid urbanisation, ageing infrastructure, water leaks and illegal connections.
At a council meeting on Monday, Xaba said: “As a city, we have been constantly saying that the demand for water far exceeds supply and we continue to plead with all stakeholders, especially the public, to work with us to address this challenge. It is important to mention that the bulk of water supply to the eThekwini Municipality comes from the Umgeni/uThukela Water catchment system.”
He said the Department of Water and Sanitation had imposed water curtailment in a bid to reduce the current sales and abstraction volume of 8.4% of water usage across the city.
“We urge our residents to use water sparingly, so that we can assist in reducing this high-level of consumption. We want to indicate that we did everything in our power to avert this situation by writing to the Department of Water and Sanitation requesting the postponement of the curtailment, while we implement measures to save water, including non-revenue water. However, we are at the stage where the ultimate goal is to avert a situation where water supply gets depleted from the source."
To ensure that residents are not adversely affected, the city plans to install restrictors in water metres to all consumers, implement pressure reduction in the reticulation network, and provide metering to all unmetered consumers.
Xaba said they would also improve the turnaround time in repairing leaks and pipe bursts through deployment of ward-based plumbers, embark on drives to ensure community education in water conservation and disconnect illegal connections.
Water rationing would also be implemented in areas where demand is too high or exceeds the available supply.
Rocky Naidoo, the chairperson of the Chatsworth and District Civic Federation, said the city’s plans of water curtailment were not acceptable.
“Several areas across the city have experienced severe water problems since 2022. In our area, Crosssmoor, Shallcross and Northdene have had endless water issues. The worst hit areas in the city were Tongaat and Phoenix, where people have been forced to live without water. Now there are water restrictions.
"The municipality must tell us what the problem is. When will they sort out the infrastructure? They cannot dump this problem onto the community. There was poor management for ages and this is the result of it. The public is paying rates and taxes. Where is this money going?”
Roshan Lil-Ruthan, spokesperson for the Verulam Water Crisis Committee, said: “The water shedding will definitely pose challenges for the future of the residents of Verulam and surrounding suburbs, considering that we have been the worst affected communities in the past two years.
"We had just started getting regular water into our homes when we were confronted with this news. We will remain vocal and opposed to this autocratic decision without any consultation whatsoever with us. We are placed in this situation because of ineffective, inefficient and corrupt individuals from the municipality.
“Coupled with this is the bullying from Umgeni-uThukela Management and their board, who forget that they represent the communities and not themselves or their pockets. But residents also have a role to play.
"They must use water sparingly. They must attend to leaks on their properties and report leaks on council infrastructure. This collaborative process would benefit all of us. Water theft is also a major problem including non revenue water. The enforcement division of the municipality needs to be effective.”
Ish Prahladh, chairperson of the eThekwini Residents Ratepayers Association, said it was unfair that residents, who were paying for their water each month, be subjected to restrictions.
“The municipality needs to stop water wastage immediately by employing plumbers in each ward, so that when there is a burst pipe, it could be fixed immediately and the water flow could be stopped. Water is wasted each day due to burst pipes. They also need to clamp down on car washes operating illegally. A task team needs to be set up to address illegal water connections."