Parts of Umlazi without water as vandals destroy newly repaired infrastructure

Parts of Umlazi, south of Durban, have been without water after a newly repaired pump station was vandalised, causing a disruption in supply.

The eThekwini municipality, which condemned the vandalism, said Umlazi Z, AA and BB sections are without water.

“Electric cables were cut and stolen and the control panel damaged in an act of sheer destruction by those who care little about the suffering of the community.

“The Umlazi 4 pump station, which pumps water to the Umlazi 5 reservoir, recently began operating after the pumps were repaired.”

The municipality appealed to communities “to work with it to clamp down on this unlawful conduct which impedes service delivery and frustrates communities.

“The city’s technical team is assessing the damage. In the meantime, the city has mobilised water tankers to provide relief to affected residents.”

Frustrated residents hit out at the municipality on its Facebook page. Some called for the city to install security and cameras at pump stations.

“It's imperative these critical infrastructure have surveillance cameras/platform alarms or guards. We have to mitigate away from fruitless tax money wasting and use funds to improve service delivery,” said one resident.

“This is very sad because we are suffering,” said another.

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