Durban — The eThekwini Municipality is rolling out a metering project to reduce water losses.
The municipality said that to reduce water losses throughout the city, it has started a process of connecting water meters at households that were previously without meters and replacing those that need to be replaced.
It said that the project includes metering of historically meter-less properties, domestic meter change, meter upgrade for industries, commercial and institutional properties, and outlet/zone meter maintenance.
EThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit head Ednick Msweli said installing water meters is among the interventions by eThekwini to ensure water supply is controlled and accounted for.
“We are addressing the issue of water loss through various interventions. This includes attending to leaks timeously and through meter connections to ensure the water we supply reaches homes and businesses. No water should be unaccounted for,” Msweli said.
He urged the public to work with the City to protect its infrastructure against theft and vandalism.
“While we are doing our part to ensure water is accounted for, we also face a challenge of theft of water meters which leaves pipes damaged and results in bursts and subsequent water loss. This not only causes financial loss but also affects residents as they may have an interruption of water supply while teams attend to repairs,” Msweli said.
The municipality added that the drive to reduce water losses continues, the city remains committed to assisting indigent households. To support these households, the City provides free basic water amounting to six kilolitres monthly, as well as sewage disposal, 65 kilowatts of electricity, and free refuse removal. The City also provides debt relief for qualifying indigent customers.
It added that meter connection has commenced in Cato Ridge and is being rolled out to other areas in the City.
Meanwhile, in May, The Mercury reported that the amount of water lost in eThekwini on a daily basis calculated in litres equates to about 615 million litres per day.
ActionSA councillor Alan Beesley made the calculation during a debate in council after it was revealed that the latest water loss figure was now standing at around 57.3%.
The amount is for the 2022/23 financial year.
Beesley said that high water losses – the water losses were 57.3%. This is a new record. More than 615 million litres of water are being lost daily (literally going down the drain).
In monetary terms, this equates to over R2 billion being lost a year. These water losses continue to increase and clearly demonstrate the poor state of the city’s infrastructure.
He said that in one year, the amount owing to the city has increased by R5bn from R19bn to R24bn.
This increase is unsustainable and will ultimately have a negative impact on the current low levels of service delivery within the city.
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Daily News