KWAMBONAMBI residents turned out in force at the town hall on Monday for an emergency water meeting.
The second such meeting in two weeks, they left feeling somewhat positive the situation is being dealt with, yet discriminated against as other parts of the district are seemingly allocated an uninterrupted water supply at their expense.
Apart from an erratic water supply that sometimes sees residents go without for 48 hours at a time, the main complaints were inadequate communication which has left residents in the dark, and the feeling of discrimination.
Most present work in Richards Bay which, they say, does not suffer restrictions.
A request was that uThungulu cuts Richards Bay’s supply for two hours each day in order to supply KwaMbonambi.
This, residents argue, would be a better solution than having to fill 25 litre containers at the Jojo tanks, which poses a risk to older people who could injure themselves carrying such a weight.
uThungulu’s Senior Manager for Water Efficiency Uses, Mr Cele, fielded all questions but warned the entire system is nearing a ‘state of collapse’, after level five restrictions had been put in place.
He said the low level at Goedertrouw Dam, just 19.6%, has forced the district to cut KwaMbonambi’s water supply to a quarter of the demand.
Acknowledging the area was declared a disaster zone, Cele said doubling of the Tugela Transfer Scheme has been approved and government has set aside R410-million for the project.
However, this will not benefit the public before the end of next year at least, as the scheme will take at least 18 months to complete.
After the meeting, residents formed a committee to work with uThungulu District in finding a solution, including the recommissioning of existing boreholes or the drilling of new ones.
