Dire water situation in Tongaat
Tongaat River's water level has dropped significantly.
Ethekwini Municipality said the low water level in the Tongaat River is making it very difficult to supply the quota for eight reservoirs which are supplied from uThongathi Water Works.
“Owing to the reduced water level at Tongaat River, the volume of water entering the uThongathi Water Works is about 45 percent less than normal,” said Ethekwini’s head of communication Tozi Mthethwa.
“Even the uThongathi transfer scheme has almost stopped extracting water from the river system since last week. The situation is dire and engineers are trying to balance the supply to each reservoir.”
Earlier last week Ethekwini released a water restriction time table for Tongaat, but residents in areas like Maidstone said they had no water whatsoever, never mind rationing.
Mthethwa said the availability of water at the river and reservoir levels have prolonged the outage and 25 water tankers were deployed.
“We apologise for the prolonged water interruptions and urge consumers to bear with us as we try to deal with the drought which is currently beyond our control,” said Mthethwa.
Ethekwini urges consumers to try and save water as much as possible by following these water-saving tips:
1. Do not water the garden;
2. Avoid washing cars if possible or wash using a bucket of water instead of a hosepipe
3. Do not fill swimming pools
4. Do not leave the tap running when brushing your teeth or for any other activities
5. A two minute shower is better than bathing in a bath tub
6. Instead of washing clothes everyday with a half load, wash every alternate day with a full load
7. When washing vegetables, wash them in a dish, instead of washing vegetables under running water
8. Read your meter on a daily basis to ensure there are no internal leaks in your property
9. If you are going away close the main water valve
10. When washing dishes do not use running water, rather fill the basin with water
11. Use water sparingly and wisely, do not waste water in any way
12. Report leaks to 080 1313013, send an SMS to 083 707 3013 or email eservices@durban.gov.za
