Sabotage probe after Durban North and Umhlanga residents go 6 days without water

The eThekwini municipality has asked police to probe sabotage after thousands of households in the greater Durban north region entered their sixth day without water.

In a statement on Saturday, the municipality's Gugu Sisilana said: “The elements of sabotage are suspected after technical teams discovered an air valve in a water pipeline that was tampered with and another valve was vandalised.

“This comes as our technical teams continue with an assessment on the northern aqueduct to ascertain the root cause of the reduced flow resulting in the interruption of water supply in Umhlanga, Durban North and surrounding areas.”

She said no major water leaks or burst pipes supplying these areas were detected.

Sisilana said it was meeting with bulk water supplier uMngeni-uThukela Water to implement alternative supply options.

Affected areas include: Redhill, Umgeni Park, Athlone, Riverside, Beachway, Riverside, Glen Anil, Glen Hill, uMhlanga Rocks, Parkhill, La Lucia, Sunningdale, Glen Ashley and Somerset Park. 

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