Water crisis in KZN: eThekwini reaches dam limit, warns of outages

South African residents continue to face water outages. Gauteng’s City of Tshwane recently urged residents to use water sparingly, and eThekwini, in Kwazulu-Natal, followed suit. 

The municipality is currently facing a surge in water demand that exceeds the available supply. 

According to the National Department of Water and Sanitation, eThekwini Municipality has reached the limit of water that can be drawn from the dams. 

The Deputy head of the city’s Water and Sanitation Unit, Simon Scruton said while several measures to enhance water security are being implemented, it is critical for residents and businesses to play their part by reducing their water usage.

“The supply systems are running at maximum capacity and any breakdowns are rapidly felt by consumers. When the water comes back online after a breakdown, it takes time for the systems to recharge and recover. It is therefore preferable to keep the available supply consistently at lower demand levels rather than at high demand levels which is then subject to intermittent water supply,” said Scruton. 

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276L vs 173L daily consumption per person

eThekwini signed an agreement for the construction of the uMkhomazi Water Scheme to augment water supply to the city to address the water shortage.  

According to the municipality, the current water consumption in eThekwini per person, per day is 276 liters while the world average is 173 liters, per person, per day.  

“To start, the city aims to reduce consumption by approximately 20% to achieve 220 liters/per person /per day, however the overall goal to reach world average,” it said. 

Scruton urged residents and businesses to check their water meter regularly, repair any leaks on their properties, and consider installing flow restrictors to limit water use.  

uMkhomazi water scheme

The city said it is increasing the private sector involvement in the delivery of water services in the municipality as part of the Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy.  

“We have five bulk water schemes that are in the design and construction phase. These five schemes will add 550 megaliters (ML/day) of water per day to the existing 1100ML/day that is currently being supplied to business and residents (a 50% increase). This additional supply will adequately supply eThekwini with bulk water until 2060,” said Scruton.

He further added that the first scheme to be commissioned will be the lower uMkhomazi at the end of 2027. 

“The current available water in the system is sufficient, but problems are being experienced as a lot is being wasted. 

“Average consumption of water in eThekwini is 298 litres per capita per day (l/c/d), against the international average of 173 l/c/d. This is an anomaly in a water scarce country. We therefore need residents to understand the long-term nature of the conservation programmes over a three-year period to get us all through this difficult period,” Scruton concluded. 

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