THERE has been huge confusion, frustration and, more recently, panic associated with the installation of the new municipal water restrictors.
While local councillors have said that they have received numerous complaints from residents due to a lack of communication from the department regarding the ‘water-saving initiative’, others have expressed concern over yellow and red dots that have been spray-painted onto the side of the water meter boxes.
These marks have reignited an age-old myth that has regularly resurfaced on social media – the idea that criminals are using secret ‘markings’ to identify a home as a ‘soft target’.
According to Kyle van Reenen of Marshall Security, the security company has become inundated with calls from residents who fear that their homes will be targeted by criminals.
“We want to assure residents that this is simply a hoax. There has never been any truth behind the myth of these markings. The belief that Coke cans, bottles, sticks and drawings on the wall have ever been used by criminals as a means of communication is false,” he said.
Durban North ward councillor, Shaun Ryley, supported the statement, saying that Ashan Navdlal, the senior manager for operations in the Water and Sanitation Department, has confirmed that the yellow and red dots were made by municipal contractors.
“One spot or mark, regardless of colour, indicates that a restrictor has been fitted, while a second indicates that the restrictor has been checked by a secondary team to ensure that all is in order,” explained Ryley.
According to the councillor, the restrictors are temporarily being installed by the city in an effort to resolve the country’s water crisis.
