Durban's water infrastructure faces criminal onslaught, costing millions in repairs

Vandalism to the eThekwini Municipality water infrastructure is costing millions of rand to repair and rapidly depleting budgets.

The eThekwini Water and Sanitation Directorate presented a weekly update report to the Executive Committee on Tuesday, which included a list of vandalised wastewater pump stations.

Sibusiso Vilane, a senior member of the eThekwini Sanitation Directorate, said that 88% of the pump stations were in use.

Vilane said replacement costs associated with vandalism and theft are a serious problem not only for water and sanitation, but also for electricity.

“Efforts are under way to improve security, subject to budget availability. Pump stations are important to the municipality's water and sanitation unit,” he said.

Nkosenhle Madlala, ANC councillor and Exco member, called for more discussions with communities to educate them about the impact vandalism and theft were having.

“We are unsure whether this is purely criminal activity or if someone is attempting to create a business for themselves. We can see infrastructure improvements in areas where we invested money,” Madlala said.

eThekwini City Manager Musa Mbhele said a detailed response to vandalism of municipal infrastructure will be discussed in a meeting with Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, in Gauteng on Friday.

Hlabisa is expected to meet with mayors to jointly reflect on governance and service delivery challenges, strengthen intergovernmental coordination, and co‑create practical, implementable solutions aimed at improving the performance, sustainability, and resilience of metropolitan municipalities.

“We would like to have an engagement around this topic and work towards a solution with the various roleplayers in attendance,” Mbhele said.

Yogis Govender, DA eThekwini Exco member, said that the city cannot lose millions of rand due to criminal vandalism.

She said these funds should have been allocated to service delivery. Instead, she said, they are now diverted to replace stolen equipment and repair vandalised facilities.

“Each of these stations is usually offline, compounding sewage overflows, environmental pollution, and escalating repair costs. The city has reported no action plan to address the criminals responsible, nor is there a high-level, intelligence-driven operation in place to secure these stations.”

List of vandalised pump stations:

• distribution unit were vandalised. The generator cables were also stolen.
• Johanna Road: Repairs cost R700,000. The MCC distribution unit and the general structure were vandalised. The lights, cables, steel doors, and sump covers were stolen in 2024. 
• Unit Avenue: Repairs to cost R600,000. The MCC and distribution unit were vandalised in November 2025. 
• Riverside: Repairs cost R3.2million. The MCC and distribution unit were vandalised in February 2024. 
• Repairs to Riverdene station to cost R100,000.

• Athlone Drive: Repairs cost R300,000. The Motor Control Centres (MCCs) and the Illovo 1 station will cost R400,000, and the Illovo 2 station will cost R100,000. The MCC and distribution unit were vandalised. This project is still under way. 
• Savannah Park: The pumps and valves were stolen and repaired at a cost of R400,000.
• Southern area: The furniture storeroom had a break-in where an old air conditioner was stripped.
• Southern Pollution Building: Various items were stolen from the vacant building in August 2025, with an estimated cost to repair at R120,000.

• Southern area: The Furniture, Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) stores' alarm sensor cables were stolen, and some old aircons were stripped. The repair is expected to cost R140,000.
• KwaMashu Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) will cost an estimated R5.5 million to repair the filtration plant's electrical, control, and instrumentation equipment.
• KwaMashu WWTW: The Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) plant's electrical, control, and instrumentation equipment was vandalised and is estimated to cost R5.5 million.
• KwaMashu WWTW: Electrical cabling (thickener, digesters) will cost an estimated R2 million to repair.
• Phoenix WWTW: The main building air conditioners and aeration MCC air conditioners were damaged. The repair cost is expected to be R267,120.

• Amanzimtoti WWTW experienced vandalism to the west aerator motor cables, which will cost R44,000.
• Isipingo WWTW: The chlorine dosing system was vandalised. The repairs will cost R 49,560.
• Dassenhoek and Kwandengezi WWTW experienced theft of power cables and infrastructure vandalism. The municipality is considering deploying additional armed security guards and installing cameras.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za