The eThekwini municipality is finalising a Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy Business Plan to curb water losses. Picture: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
The eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) unit plans to install 88 972 water restrictors to households in the south Durban area urgently.
This was part of the municipality’s Water and Sanitation Turnaround Strategy Business Plan that is expected to be tabled before an eThekwini Executive Committee meeting next Tuesday.
The plan will address, among other issues, curbing water losses by detecting and repairing water leaks, replacement, and installation of meters so that the city is able to account for every drop of water provided to residents.
The municipality conceded that it is losing billions of rand in revenue from water losses including burst pipes and an unmetered water supply. Water makes up 40% of the revenue the city is unable to collect because of leaks and theft of water.
eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said that management was no longer prepared to engage in endless discussions about water challenges.
“The provision of water is an Apex priority in the city, and it is in this context that we now want to hold the management accountable to a clear action plan. We are confident these interventions will reduce non-revenue water, currently exceeding 50%. This will be the first step towards ensuring that we have sufficient water for everyone in the city,” Xaba said.
He said closing leakages in the water network is vital if the city wants to run a sustainable water service.
“Even if we were to get additional volumes of water, this will be a futile exercise because more than half of it is unaccounted for. All Exco members speak with one voice and there is consensus that it cannot be used for political point scoring.”
Xaba said the city management is not interested in lame excuses and processes.
“We want to know how many of those communities have started receiving water. I am using the term communities and not areas deliberately,” Xaba said.
Head of Water and Sanitation Ednick Msweli said there are 265 reservoirs in the municipality; and they have begun installing restrictors in uMlazi.
“We need to allocate more resources so we can pick up the pace significantly,” Msweli said.
DA Exco member Thabani Mthethwa requested feedback on when the EWS will begin connecting those that are illegally connected to the system so that they pay for water.
Another DA Exco member, Andre Beetge, said the southern aqueduct has been problematic with consistent leaks, leaving the south area of Isipingo not having water for 96 hours.
“There is an old age home and the residential area of Isipingo and the northern part of Amanzimtoti. We have Toyota South Africa in Prospecton and regional shopping centres asking questions,” Beetge said.
IFP Exco member Mdu Nkosi called for more financial support for the EWS.
“We need more resources. Colleagues who do not support the budget will now be able to support the adjustment budget,” Nkosi added.
uMngeni-uThukela Water Board (UUW) has implemented water curtailment throughout eThekwini Municipality until September 2025.
The curtailment is being implemented at the directive of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), which issued a notice to UUW to reduce the volume of water abstracted from the uMngeni system to their licensed volumes of 470 million m3/annum. This will mean a reduction on the current sales and abstraction volume of 8.4%.
zainul.dawood@inl.co.za