KwaDukuza residents fume as taps run dry
WATER supply woes in the iLembe district municipality drew complaints by kwaDukuza residents this week as unpredictable disruptions continued.
A municipal press release this week said power outages had damaged filters at the region’s Darnall machinery, which had interrupted the water supply.
Bala Reddy, a resident of 37 years in the KwaZulu-Natal town’s hard-hit Stanger Manor area, said that since December last year he and his neighbours had not known when their taps might suddenly run dry.
“Our water problems started in December. On Christmas morning, we had no water. It has been [disrupted] on an ongoing basis since then and nobody seems to understand what is happening.”
Also affected is the kwaDukuza CBD, Warrenton, Indian Village, Ocean View, Doctorskop, Windy Heights, Stanger Heights, Lindelani and New Guilderland.
“Last night, we had no water and it only came back this morning at about six,” said Reddy on Thursday.
Disruptions in recent years have forced many residents to install water tanks.
Reddy said he was stockpiling two-litre bottles of water for emergencies.
Residents also boil water or buy purifiers because of the poor quality water in the area.
Balan Naidoo, chairman of the Stanger Manor Secondary School’s governing body, said it was installing a borehole to reduce the use of municipal water “and because if there are water shortages, it won’t disrupt schooling”.
Reddy’s neighbour, Manny Singh, complained that not enough water tankers were sent to the area. “They announced from a loud-hailer that a tanker would come the next day at 10am [on Monday], but it never came. We only got water on Wednesday. Then the water went off at night again.”
Notha Maphumulo, iLembe district’s acting technical services director, said the municipality was working with the kwaDukuza electricity department to ensure that power outages affecting the water infrastructure were prioritised.
He said Stanger Manor was undertaking rehabilitation to its ageing water infrastructure.
The roll-out of the municipality’s Lower Thukela water upgrade and expansion would help “assist with the elimination of multi-pumping from Umvoti”, said Maphumulo.