Persistent water supply issues plague Ethekwini communities

Residents in Ethekwini raised their frustrations over a persistent lack of water supply, with complaints surfacing from regions including eMkhomazi on the South Coast and Phoenix to the north of Durban.

The accusations of negligence have highlighted the urgency surrounding water availability in these areas, as citizens grow increasingly impatient with the municipality's handling of the crisis. Mandlakayise Dlomo, a resident of eMkhomazi, expressed his dismay, emphasising that sourcing water has become an uphill struggle over the past four years.

"Initially, they brought water tankers to the area, but their delivery schedule has been inconsistent. Sometimes they deliver, sometimes they don’t, and on the days they do, it’s often in the morning when most of us are at work,” he lamented.

Lindokuhle Maseko of Phoenix shared a similar frustrations and pointed to broken municipality pipes and the claims of ongoing repairs. “I don’t believe the pipes are bursting at this point; it’s just sheer incompetence from the municipality,” Maseko stated, highlighting her community's frustrations with repeated outages. “I am just tired of these people."

The situation has drawn the attention of local political figures. Councillor Andre Beetge, a DA executive member, reiterated that the municipality was slack in its handling of water supply challenges.

He previously alerted the council about the deficiencies in the inflow from the South Coast Augmentation pump station and the Amzimtoti Water Works, which were expected to provide a daily supply of 100 million litres.

According to Beetge, the current average supply falls far short of that expectation, often generating a daily deficit of up to 36 million litres. “It’s totally impossible to ensure supply to all,” Beetge stated, highlighting the reliance on water tankers that frequently remain unused due to maintenance issues.

Despite these grievances, eThekwini’s mayor, Cyril Xaba, defended the municipality, asserting that addressing water issues was a top priority for the city's leadership.

He pointed to significant investments, including a R1.2 billion bulk water pipeline expected to enhance supply infrastructure by next year, and the completion of several pump station upgrades aimed at increasing capacity and reliability.

Xaba said: “Great progress is being made to improve infrastructure capacity in the northern areas of eThekwini.”

Alongside ongoing projects, he mentioned the introduction of advanced technology to monitor water levels and identify faults in the system promptly, stressing that residents also need to contribute by conserving water.

DAILY NEWS