Durban water crisis: 16 days of inactivity

AS a water crisis sweeps across many areas in Durban, a leaking tap was left unfixed for over two weeks.

Douglas Kriek, a security guard for the office complex on 379 Umbilo Road, first made a note in his book on 24 January 2021. 

Kriek said the leak started when municipal workers were tarring a road and accidentally hit the meter pipe. Kriek said a small leak from the pipes suddenly turned into a huge fountain of water gushing onto the streets.

“The water has been running like this for 24 hours. Because the pipe is outside the buildings, whose going to pay it, we are, the taxpayers. There’s a lot of water that’s been wasted,” said Kriek.

The burst pipe is situated close to the steps that lead to the second floor of the office complex. Kriek said the water was gushing upwards and would get wet people who were going up the stairs.

ALSO READ: Government must intervene regarding water wastage, says eThekwini councillor

A couple of men, Kriek said, managed to use a scarf and redirect the water downstream to a car park.

Due to how strong the water was leaking, it affected water pressure for people working on the top floor of the three-storey office building.

Desiree Pillay, who owns a clothing manufacturing company situated on the third floor, said she and her employees had to use buckets to fetch water from downstairs to flush the toilet.

“We had to use buckets because we couldn’t close the business, it would’ve been two weeks’ worth of production lost,” said Pillay. Pillay said she employs about 40 women in her shop.

The leak was finally fixed this Monday, with the City replacing the old pipe. The municipality had not responded to questions by time of publication.

In a report presented to Durban’s executive council, the city reported a water distribution loss ratio of 51.7 per cent. The national benchmark for acceptable water loss is between 15 to 30 per cent.

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