RESIDENTS of North Durban had to deal with ongoing water supply issues yet again after algae growth led to reduced volumes of water supplied by uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) through the Durban Heights Treatment Works.
The Durban Heights reservoir is critical for the supply of water in eThekwini as it provides 590 megalitres of water per day.
The eThekwini Municipality buys most of its treated water from the uMngeni-uThukela Water Board.
The board stores the treated water in bulk storage reservoirs before supplying eThekwini Municipality reservoirs.
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The Northern Aqueduct is of significance as it’s a pipeline that carries water from the Durban Heights Treatment Works to the areas in the north.
In a statement last week, the City said it was aware of the ongoing water outage and intermittent supply affecting areas in the northern part of the City.
“Reduction in volume is due to filters being clogged at the Durban Heights Treatment Works by a large volume of algae. A number of interventions are in progress to resolve this challenge. As of August 25, only one bulk pipeline is open to convey water from the Durban Heights Treatment Works to the City’s reservoirs. This has resulted in a much lower rate of water going into our system, which is already depleted. The public is urged to be patient while interventions to restore sufficient water levels on the storage and distribution reservoirs are underway,” the statement read.
Former councillor for Ward 35 Nicole Bollman said she has requested water tankers for the affected areas.
“We have been advised by the eThekwini Water Services (EWS) that there has been no improvement from uMngeni-uThukela Water at Durban Heights. Reservoir 2, which supplies Durban North, is still reflecting 1m, and we are still only receiving supply from one line. I have requested tankers,” she said.
Some of the affected areas include Phoenix Ntuzuma, Cornubia and parts of Durban North.
A little more than a week ago, eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba, together with a board member of uMngeni-uThukela Water, Diana Hoorzuk, conducted a site inspection at the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works after the interruption of water supply in the northern parts of the city.
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“We want to plead with our residents to be patient as our teams are working tirelessly to restore water supply in all affected areas,” Xaba said at the time.
