In little over three weeks Ballito’s population and water consumption will more than double, as thousands of holidaymakers roll into town.
Residents are concerned that the influx of tourists will deplete the town’s water resources, causing the taps to dry up as has been the case elsewhere in the Ilembe district.
Last week’s rain also made no difference to the level of the Hazelmere Dam.
Cheryl Peters, Enterprise Ilembe tourism and marketing manager, said Ballito was more or less fully booked for the peak period with a few spots open here and there.
“We are still receiving numerous inquiries for accommodation, and we have not received any requests for cancellations to date,” said Peters.
Shyam Misra, Sembcorp Siza Water managing director, said they were prepared for the spike in water usage and the continuation of the drought through the summer.
“There will be water and we will manage the system very closely. We will need to interrupt the water supply to make sure there is water available at least for peak period usage, yet setting up a schedule is difficult because of the unpredictable change in consumption patterns that can be expected,” said Misra.
He pleaded that consumers be patient and understanding in this regard.
Misra said the network modifications to inject recycled drinking water into the network would be ready in a week or two.
This means Ballito will soon receive a blend of water supplied by Umgeni Water, boreholes and recycled water in their taps.
“We anticipate that with us adding water from the recycling plant, there should be minimal impact on our water supply,” said Misra.
He said people were currently collecting about 500 000 to 750 000 litres of recycled water per day from the Frasers plant near the Zimbali service entrance.
“Demand has increased to areas outside our concession area and as from November 19, any person wishing to collect water from the plant will have to pay ten cents per litre of water. Such payment needs to be done at our Ballito Customer Service office (at Reys Office Park) during office hours, before collecting water,” said Misra.
Pending the outcome of a meeting between Umgeni Water, Ethekwini Water, Ilembe district municipality and Sembcorp Siza Water this week, restrictions in the district may be increased to 50 percent.
Shami Harichunder, Umgeni Water spokesperson, said Hazelmere Dam was currently only 25 percent full and increasing water restrictions to 50 percent was expected to extend the dam’s water supply form 120 to 160 days.
He said the emergency pipeline that has been transferring eight million litres of water a day from the Tongaat River to Hazelmere Dam, now only pumped half that volume across because the water level of the Tongaat River has dropped significantly.
Harichunder appealed to holidaymakers coming to KZN to be considerate and obey water restrictions.
