Water shutdown postponed

THE water shutdown which was scheduled for Thursday, 8 September and Friday, 9 September has been postponed until further notice

An angry Hillcrest resident said the municipality owes people an explanation.
“We have buckets and bottles of water lying in our houses and only to be to told that it has been postponed with no proper explanation.

“We are experiencing a drought and we understood that this procedure was essential for everyone which is why we complied and took the necessary precautions. The announcement was made on the eThekwini Municipality Facebook page early this morning and immediately sparked comments from residents.Others commented that some of the schools and businesses have been closed because of the shutdown.

Another resident said she had prepared for the shutdown and have water saved in baths and bottles. “Does this all go to waste now and then we repeat the exercise in a few days time? Aren’t we meant to be saving water?

eThekwini Municipality replied to the comment and advised the consumer to use her saved water accordingly. Shami Harichunder, Umgeni Water corporate stakeholder manager confirmed that the shutdown of Midmar Waterworks and DV Harris Waterworks has been deferred to a new date.
“This decision was taken last night, (Wednesday, 7 September) in response to a request from Msunduzi LM. The new date for the shutdown will be announced by Umgeni Water at a later stage.
He said the decision was made by Umgeni Water as part of its initiatives to entrench, foster and consolidate customer relations. Both waterworks supply eThekwini, PMB and uMgungundlovu.

“The shutdown was to conduct essential work at Midmar Waterworks in order to enhance sustainability and security of  future supply,” he added.