Ladysmith: 48-hour water shutdown so essential work can be carried out
All Ezakheni residential areas will be affected and could receive little or no water as work progresses
Ladysmith KZN – Umgeni Water is urging Ladysmith residents to use water sparingly, as there will be a 48-hour shutdown early next week.
Starting from Tuesday, September 15, at 8am, Umgeni Water will be conducting essential work that is required to tie a new potable water supply monitoring meter into the Ezakheni system. It is expected that the work involved will be completed by Thursday, September 17.
Also read: Ezakheni Water Treatment Works to be shut down for refurbishment
A statement issued by Shami Harichunder (Corporate Stakeholder Manager of Umgeni Water) reads as follows: “Umgeni Water is the bulk potable water service provider to uThukela District Municipality in terms of an agreement signed on October 17, 2018.
“In order to execute this function and achieve service level compliance, Umgeni Water operates and manages three water treatment plants within Ladysmith and the surrounding areas. These water treatment works are in Ezakheni, Olifantskop and Tugela Estate.
Also read: Disruptions in Ladysmith water supply expected due to electrical problems
“Effective and efficient bulk potable water services provision requires that these plants be maintained and upgraded on a regular basis to enhance efficiencies in the conveyance of drinking water in bulk so that the agreed volumes are received by the municipality. It is imperative that the amount of raw water entering these plants and the amount of treated water leaving them is constantly monitored, and this is done through installation of inflow and outflow monitoring meters.”
The tie-in of the monitoring meter into the operating system next week will necessitate a scheduled 48-hour shutdown of the Aasvoelkop stream supplied from the Ezakheni Water Works. This stream supplies potable water to the 19-million-litre Aasvoelkop Reservoir, which supplies Ezakheni residential areas.
During this shutdown, Umgeni Water will be able to fill this reservoir, but will not be able to release water from it. Thus, this means that all of the Ezakheni residential areas will be affected and could receive little or no water as work progresses.
Click to receive news links via WhatsApp. Or for the latest news, visit our webpage or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Join us there!
