Water woes to end soon, promises minister

MINISTER of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, has promised the communities of Phoenix, Verulam and Tongaat that water would be restored to their homes by February 15.

Mchunu made the announcement during a meeting at the Mountview Community Hall on Sunday, where he and municipal officials addressed a large gathering of concerned residents.

Mchunu was joined by chairperson of the uMngeni-uThukela Water Board, advocate Vusi Khuzwayo, eThekwini speaker, councillor Thabani Nyawose, and the head of water and sanitation in KZN, Ednick Msweli.

Mchunu ordered that Msweli be deployed to the affected sites with immediate effect to ensure the deadline was met.

At the meeting, Mchunu emphasised the importance of water and it being a constitutional right.

“Some institutions, including schools, clinics and hospitals such as the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital, have not had water. This should not be allowed and should be addressed with great urgency. Water is essential for life, and it is a basic human need,” Mchunu said.

“eThekwini is a Water Services Authority and is responsible for ensuring that water reaches our citizens. We apologise for these occurrences, and as the national Department of Water and

Sanitation, we cannot absolve ourselves, as doing so would be a dereliction of duty.”

The delegation unpacked how they planned to prevent the ongoing problems associated with water supply. Mchunu said no effort would be spared in resolving them.

“Work will be carried out day and night if we have to, in order to meet the deadline on February 15 to provide people with water. Teams are checking for leaks and blockages as well as replacing air valves with priority being at the Mount View Reservoir. Once this work is completed, input volumes into the reservoir are expected to increase. This reservoir supplies downstream dependent reservoirs, namely Trenence 1 and 3 reservoirs,” he said.

Prior to the ongoing water outages in the northern areas, the municipality had already commenced various projects to upgrade the water infrastructure to meet the growing demand in these areas.

The construction of the Canelands pipeline bridge which started last year was in progress, Mchunu said.

This project comprises water and sewer pipelines and is in response to the needs of the growing population in the north, particularly Wards 58 and 60.

Other alternative water supply options such as desalination, remix, and reuse projects were being explored, Mchunu said.

A borehole which was due to be commissioned on February 5 as a temporary measure of relief for residents, was vandalised and was unable to operate as the taps and pipes were stolen on February 4.

Msweli said: “We have quite a fragile system at the moment. We were not waiting for a crisis. We were upgrading the system to work better. Given the current situation, all work will be fasttracked. We realise that the Umkomaas dam will take eight years but we don't have eight years to wait. We were working on that but now have to address the crisis.

“The Northern aqueduct has a 35km pipeline, so trying to find where the blockage is, is a tedious task. We have to work on a section at a time to see where the blockage is. We are about halfway done with that exercise, hence our commitment that by the 15th we will be finished. Currently, we are no longer throttling supply to the northern areas. Between now and the 15th, we are replacing air valves. Seventy-two need to be changed in the northern aqueduct and we have 60 to go.”

Roshan Lil-Ruthan, spokesperson of the Verulam Water Crisis Committee, said the community was hoping, with trepidation, that the crisis would be resolved by February 15.

“We are hopeful. We are glad that the South African Human Rights Commission will participate in the ongoing meetings with us twice a week to monitor the developments.

“After deliberating with communities in Verulam and surrounding areas, we found that the Trenance 3 area had not had a water supply for ten years, which is unacceptable. If water doesn't come out of our taps by the 15th, someone is going to jail for violating our basic human rights as the government is bound legally to provide safe, clean water and proper sanitation.

“I have no doubt that the communities will take to the streets in their masses, on a larger scale than last week’s peaceful demonstrations, to protest again if the promises made are not kept,” said Lil-Ruthan.

He highlighted the ripple effect the water crisis was having on key facilities in the communities affected.

“At the Phoenix Mortuary, bodies could not be washed. Through private donors, we were able to secure water. Staff at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial were struggling to service patients and were desperate for water to use for bathing patients, sterilising equipment, for drinking and medication. Surgical procedures had to be cancelled due to the crisis. The crisis committee assisted the hospital, which is also now receiving water from the municipality,” he said.

Lil-Ruthan also raised the issue of two deaths that occurred during the water crisis with the government delegation.

“Hloniphile Mkhabela, a part-time caregiver, was shot while collecting water last Monday. A man was allegedly unhappy with how long he had to wait at the communal tank. He shot at it several times before killing Mkhabela. The man was arrested and is in police custody.

“Two weeks ago, Govindamah Shanthi Govender, 77, fell due to extreme exhaustion and passed away while carrying water to her home. She was carrying two 25 litre buckets of water to her home in Trenance Park. These deaths over water are unacceptable,” he added.

Pavershree Padayachee, provincial manager for the South African Human Rights Commission in KZN, said the Commission remained concerned about the on-going violation of the constitutional right to access to water, and the long delays by the authorities to restore the supply of water to affected communities.

“The commission appeals for tolerance and for all parties to continue to respect each other’s rights and to work together in addressing this crisis,” Padayachee said.

Mchunu said the delegation would be back at the Mountview Community Hall on February 15 to account for their promises.