THE eThekwini Municipality has collected revenue in excess of R8-million as a result of prosecutions following its clamp-down of over 14 000 illegal water connections from 2012 to March 2015. The municipality encourage customers to take advantage of the water amnesty opportunity offered to declare illegal connections and be regularised at a cost of R250.
The water amnesty offer allows customers to be converted to legal water users. To date, the municipality has received a total number of 3 058 water amnesty applications.
Tozi Mthethwa, eThekwini Municipality’s head of communications, said, “The municipality is reported to be losing about 237-million litres a day due to illegal water connections, vandalism and leaks that are not reported timeously.”
These shocking statistics were revealed by eThekwini Mayor, Cllr James Nxumalo, last year during a day-long visit to INK (Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu), where residents are most affected by a surge of illegal water connections and burst water pipes.The municipality’s Water and Sanitation Unit (EWS) has focused its attention on reducing the non-revenue water in the INK area as well as improving the levels of supply for the communities. KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Senzo Mchunu, and MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, are acutely aware of challenges faced by the municipality and have supported the various projects and educational initiatives such as ‘War On Leaks’, which are aimed at educating communities on water saving and reporting water leaks.
The water supply system in the area has deteriorated, and the contributing factors are illegal water connections, the rampant vandalism and theft of the water infrastructure and the safety of the municipality’s staff, who are sometimes attacked when they are sent out to remove illegal connections.
Nxumalo said numerous solutions have been implemented to address these problems. “Owing to the extent and nature of the problem, addressing these issues in these areas will take considerable time, and there is no ‘quick-fix’. Some improvements, such as meter installation, will be done once-off, but other interventions, such as leak detection, will have to be carried out repeatedly to stabilise the system,” he added.
Between 2007 and 2010, the municipality spent close to R2-billion on the asbestos cement (AC) pipe replacement project, which was part of the municipality’s water management strategy aimed at replacing ageing water pipes.
The municipality urges residents to continue reporting water leaks, illegal water connections, vandalism or theft of municipal infrastructure to 080 131 3013, e-mail eservices@durban.gov.za, send an SMS to 43554 or fax 031 311 8220.
