North Durban residents unaffected by water works maintenance

RESIDENTS  living in north Durban suburbs can heave a sigh of relief. They won’t be affected by planned maintenance on the Midmar Treatment Works.

In a Facebook post, the eThekwini Municipality stated the maintenance planned for Thursday, 26 January  will only affect those areas serviced by Midmar Dam and will last for 16 hours.  Water to North Durban residents is supplied from the Hazelmere Dam system and according to Umgeni Water, water restrictions of 40 per cent were lifted in September last year following a combined total of 180 mm rainfall that was received in July and August 2016. The Hazelmere Dam system serves areas in the far north of eThekwini and parts of iLembe.

The municipality urged residents of the affected areas not to panic and be water wise since they will still have access to water from the reservoirs.

The maintenance of the Midmar Treatment Works is currently underway and will end at midnight.

“Affected areas are those serviced by the Midmar Dam and include the Outer West, Inner West and parts of the South. Residents are urged not to increase demand on the system by storing water. Water will be available to residents from reservoirs.”

They urged affected residents not to stockpile water as it will put the reservoir system under strain.

“If there is a demand on the reservoir system it will lead to the reservoirs being drained and residents will be without water. The public is therefore urged to use water conservatively. If the planned maintenance does not go ahead, this will be communicated to the public. The maintenance will be deferred to a later date if officials are unhappy with the water levels in reservoirs. These levels have to be at 80 percent or above for the planned maintenance to go ahead,” they said in the post.