Water woes challenge residents

DESPITE piped water having returned to most parts of Tongaat, the residents are leaving nothing to chance and have stored the precious commodity in buckets and bottles for when the taps run dry.

Some of them had been without water for more than a week and fear the water supply could be interrupted again at a moment’s notice.

For those living in the rural area of Emona, water has become a sought-after commodity, with many having to trek to a river, the beach or the nearest public ablution facility for it.

The residents, many of whom live in wood-and-iron homes, claimed the water shortage had been a problem for more than a year.

The piped water, they said, was shut off at least three times a month, and it remained that way for up to seven days at a time.

One resident, who declined to be named, claimed tankers often arrived empty, and asking neighbours for water was like asking for gold.

“No one wants to part with it,” she said.

Nirasha Ramdial’s kitchen contains rows of two-litre bottles filled with water.

The 31-year-old, who lives with seven others, said the water was filled into a bucket only when it was required to flush the toilet, for bathing or cooking. It turned slimy if left to sit for too long.

“Sometimes we wait for two days for a water tanker to arrive. If they are not here when we need the water, we have to make alternative arrangements,” she said.

“We have to find transport to Westbrook beach, which is about 12km away, to use the public taps to fill our bottles. Alternatively, when transport is an issue, we have to walk about 15 minutes down a hilly terrain to a river, climb through a hole in the fence, fill our buckets and push it back home on a wheelbarrow.

“We have children. To wake up to no water to even make the milk for our babies, it’s tough.”

Another resident, Leela Dhunpath, 73, stores water in three large pots – and water for the toilet is kept in a drum.

“We are paying for water and it needs to be sorted out.”

Moonsamy Naidoo, 71, of nearby Chelmsford Heights, said he had received water intermittently over the past month.

Despite the water having returned, he keeps emergency stock for the toilet in a black bin outside his home.

“For cooking and drinking, I buy three five-litre bottles at a time. I pay R15 per bottle and, as pensioners, these costs affect our budget.”

Irate resident Krish Govender, 73, said: “It comes down to poor management. When the Tongaat town board supplied the water, we had no problems. It was of great quality and service. Now, when we run our taps, the water flows brown. You tell me, is that safe for us to drink? What is it doing to our bodies?”

The spokesperson for the eThekwini Municipality, Msawakhe Mayisela, said the oThongathi Water Works faced technical difficulties as the plant was unable to treat raw water.

He said they had no option but to shut off the water supply for almost two weeks.

“Poor quality of raw water was flowing to the waterworks due to rain and the treatment plant was unable to produce quality water.”

He added that reservoirs supplying the area went low and took time to recover. The situation, said Mayisela, was being handled.

The other areas that have been affected by water cuts include Watsonia, Flamingo Heights, parts of Belvedere, WeWe, Newtown and Buffelsdale.