Water outages warning in eThekwini

Residents in certain parts of eThekwini have been warned of possible water supply interruptions on Friday, with some already experiencing shortages since Wednesday.

Umngeni Water said this was part of Umngeni-uThukela Water’s efforts to restore bulk water infrastructure after damage sustained during the April 2022 floods.

Umngeni-uThukela Water spokesperson Siyabonga Maphumulo said they are working closely with the eThekwini municipality water and sanitation department to minimise the impacts.  

Maphumulo said both organisations would monitor water levels at reservoirs during the shutdown so they stay within set points.

“We intend to reduce the recovery time of the Durban Heights water treatment works. This will enable us to fully restore supply to affected areas in the shortest time possible. Some parts of Durban may experience a reduction in pressure, while those in higher-lying areas may experience water interruptions on Friday morning,” said Maphumulo.

He said to minimise the shutdown's impacts, they urged the public to continue using water sparingly and delay activities that consume additional water such as washing clothes and cars, watering gardens and filling swimming pools during this time.

The affected areas which may experience a reduction in water supply or no supply include Phoenix, Mount Moriah, KwaMashu, Ntuzuma, Newlands, Effingham, Sea Cow Lake, Umhlanga, Chatsworth, Umlazi, Folweni and Westville North. 

“Umngeni-uThukela Water apologises for the inconvenience but assures its stakeholders and the public the maintenance work is aimed at ensuring an uninterrupted water supply during the festive period,” said Maphumulo.  

Voice of Phoenix’s Mervyn Reddy said their water outage issues have been ongoing and they continue to experience unannounced outages. Some areas have been without water since Wednesday morning, he said. 

Reddy said the area has not had uninterrupted water service since November 2022, including over the festive period.  He said while they understood the floods had an impact on infrastructure, the municipality had not communicated properly and was taking too long to fix the problem.

“Where things are frustrating is when the municipality shuts the water without any warning. You can’t tell me they have been fixing the same issue since November last year,” said Reddy.

“Our biggest fear is that we might experience what we did last year, which was chaotic and very frustrating.”

TimesLIVE