La Mercy and Tongaat’s erratic water supply will hopefully be a thing of the past with the installation of flow restrictors.
Residents in high lying areas have experienced extended periods with no water while those living closer to sea level have had a more constant supply.
Ethekwini Water area engineer, Ashan Nandlal said when water is switched back on after being off, the system had to fill up from the bottom (like a bucket) and all the water went to the low-lying areas first and ran out before reaching the top. He said with the restrictors reducing the water pressure, the available water will be evenly distributed.
“We hope to eventually eliminate the need for water cuts by restricting the flow to the point that the available water lasts all day,” said Nandlal.
In the mean time, reports on Facebook indicate that Tongaat has been left high and dry for days since last week. Nandlal said Tongaat drew water from the same furrow as the Tongaat sugar mill and the emergency pipeline that pumped water from the Tugela River to Hazelmere Dam.
He said the emergency pipeline’s flow has been increased from around four million to about six million litres per day, making 30 percent less water available to Tongaat. Apparently the Tongaat mill no longer draws water from the Tongaat furrow.
Nandlal said Tongaat could expect six hour long daily water interruptions until restrictors have been installed everywhere upon which a slower flow should be continuous and interruptions may cease.
Nandlal pleaded with customers to be patient when water came on late and restrict phone calls to Ethekwini Water to a minimum.
“Call volumes are very high, jamming our call centre and making it impossible for us to tend to emergency calls (like burst pipes) quickly,” he said.
Nandlal assured Ethekwini Water customers that the water will come back on if it went off, even if a little later than scheduled.
