SEVERAL areas in Durban have been affected by frequent water outages, with some lasting a few hours and others lasting days. Residents in Glenwood, Morningside and Berea have been experiencing frequent water outages or have gone without water for indefinite periods of time since last week.
Morningside residents André and Kim Pillay say they haven’t had water since last Sunday. “The water shut off for us on Sunday night. We got a message from the area group chat, saying the water pressure is low on Sunday, and I knew we had at least 30 minutes before the water was completely off. By midnight, there was no water. We immediately started trying to prepare for the outage,” said Kim.
“The entire neighbourhood has obviously been affected by this, but some more than others. There is an elderly couple living next door to us. The woman’s husband works a long distance away so she’s alone most of the time, and she can’t just go and get water by herself, so it’s really tough. We have phoned the municipality numerous times, and there have been inconsistencies in their stories. I called and was told there was a leak in a nearby road and that the leak was the cause of the water outage. I drove to the road and there was no leak,” said André.
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Kim says they are a family of six, and there are frequent water outages, and water meter theft is an issue they receive no help with. “We buy and keep water in gallons – my husband goes, drives around and fetches water and brings it back. And just how many bottles of water can you carry, even in your car – 5 litres is barely enough for just the toilet. Driving around costs money, and buying water costs money, and we are taxpayers, so this is a basic necessity,” said Kim.
“The water tankers have only come once, on the Monday, and they came in the evening just before 21:00. You have to be ready to hear them hoot – you have to walk to where they are and carry as much as you can, and when the water is finished, it’s finished, and we wait indefinitely for the next truck,” said André.
Another Morningside resident, who wants to remain anonymous, says there have been frequent outages on her road, Ninth Avenue, for the past week. “I am very disappointed. It has been a week for me – it is an ongoing thing with the water. It’s going off at odd times. There are too many water meters getting stolen – something needs to be done. Our water meter was stolen last year, and I have reported it, and nothing has been done up till today. It has been shutting off for hours at a time, right up to five hours at a time.”
The resident says she is in her 60s and lives with her husband, and they have no additional assistance other than from the local councillor. “Ernest Smith has really helped us – he came with water tankers as we can’t drink the water from the taps, and we are Muslim and need to wash up before we pray. We cannot go on like this. The elderly people and children can’t live in these conditions.”
Councillor weighs in
Ward 27 councillor Ernest Smith said complaints have been coming through for water issues for a while now, and there are multiple issues with the plumbing infrastructure. “This particular issue has been going on since mid-last week and has since spread over the various suburbs, such as Essenwood, Morningside and Puntans Hill. Water tankers are usually requested once an outage is over the 24/48-hour mark as residents’ stores are usually depleted by then. We ask for them, but, unfortunately, do not always get them dispatched on time or to the ward, which obviously creates issues for residents on the ground in terms of a schedule for when and where. Sometimes, they are also dispatched without us being told which creates communication issues between ourselves and the department.”
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City says it’s under control
According to a statement released by the municipality on July 12, field investigations are underway to identify major leaks, bursts and open scours along the bulk mains within the Central Region’s water distribution system.
“These efforts aim to determine the factors contributing to the high water demand. The elevated demand in the central and southern regions has critically reduced the storage levels at Wiggins Water Treatment Works. This has negatively impacted the performance of the South Coast augmentation gravity and high-pressure pipelines, resulting in water outages and intermittent supply to dependent reservoirs. During these investigations, some reservoir inlets and critical pump stations will be temporarily shut down to reduce the high demand on the Wiggins Water Treatment Works, allowing storage levels to recover,” said the municipality.
“The public is advised that these investigations are complex and time-consuming due to the extensive pipeline network and infrastructure involved. Initiatives commencing on Friday, July 12, are expected to continue for seven days or until Wiggins storage levels are fully restored. Our teams are closely monitoring the system to ensure the full restoration of water supply. In the meantime, residents will be provided with water from tankers,” said the City.
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