Be prepared for infrastructure failures urge community leaders
Aging infrastructure is prone to fail according to community activists who are advising people prepare for future water cuts
ACTIVISTS and community leaders, who helped collect and distribute water for Durban communities when three pumps at the Northdene pump station failed last month, say they believe much can be learned from the experience.
Cyril Naidu, a community activist and organiser from People First Party Last (PFPL) said most of those affected were without water for over a week. Naidu and Dawn Gounden, who helped people to access water, suggested that there needs to be more planning for such challenges in the future.
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“Right now, people share info and help each other, but once the water is restored, many will not take heed of what this crisis should have taught them,” said Gounden.
Among Gounden’s recommendations is the integration of existing community-led structures like neighbourhood watches and service organisations to undertake strategic planning in advance.
“Anything that is man-made is eventually going to break. This pump will be fixed, but it might break again. As we have seen with load shedding when a service is interrupted, it sometimes fails again when everyone tries to get it up and running. When a new part is added to an old system, the ageing infrastructure is under pressure.”
Advice
“I want to advise families that they need to use facilities like storage tanks and greywater systems so they do not have to rely on others and the municipality,” she said.
“If you are staying in a road that has 10 homes on it, work with the people around you,” suggested Gounden. “See if you can’t all come together to install a communal water collection tank which can service all 10 homes.”
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“We need to start coming up with creative and cooperative solutions to problems like these. Families can also collect bottled water which, if left sealed, can last more than a year,” she advised.
During the January water crisis, it was this type of water which local businesses such helped people access.
During the recent crisis in the community neighbouring Queensburgh, many were left without drinking water and local businesses in Queensburgh did what they could to help.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
