Water pipe theft leads City to scrap metal dealers

SCRAP metal dealers found with the stolen cable from the city’s 750mm diameter main water pipe will be shut down. The theft of the pipe situated at Durban Heights water treatment plant in Reservoir Hills has almost crippled the city’s water supply to the north Durban region.

Durban’s mayor, James Nxumalo made the announcement late yesterday and added that a case would be opened with the police. The SAPS and Metro Police have been tasked with tracking down the culprits who somehow managed to steal a part of the massive water pipe that supplies 70 percent of the northern areas with water.

It has already plunged areas like KwaMashu, Inanda and Ntuzuma into a water crisis while uMhlanga, Durban North, Virginia and La Lucia are left with about one day’s supply of water that is presently being pumped from several reserve reservoirs.

“This is a very serious matter and it has taught us a valuable lesson that we must provide security including the installation of cameras at all our key points to avoid a similar incident occurring in the future,” he said. The theft is worrying the city to such an extent that they have likened it to sabotage. Nxumalo urged residents to continue using water sparingly.

“These criminals must be charged for sabotaging Municipal infrastructure because the cost of fixing the damage is likely to run into millions of rands and these costs have not been budgeted for. The Municipality will now source funds from our savings to fix this problem,” he said.

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