Arising from the crisis currently being experienced at the Hazelmere Dam where dam levels have dropped to 29 percent, it has become necessary for eThekwini Municipality to impose strict water restrictions in several areas across Durban including, Waterloo, Verulam, La Mercy, and uThongathi.
Ashan Nandlal, the City’s Senior Manager for Water Network said Hazelmere Water Works has reduced production from 45 mega litres per day to just 30 mega litres per day to meet the first phase of 30 percent reduction.
The City has also found that many consumers have reverted to their bad habits of wasting water. The Municipality urges consumers to continue with their water saving techniques as rains are still well below average.
“The overall demand in uThongathi has increased recently and the available flow in the uThongathi River has reduced significantly. Further restriction may need to be imposed in the area (uThongathi) over the coming weeks if the situation does not improve,” said Nandlal, adding that most of the drought affected areas have continuous water supply.
However, in areas where water saving is not being achieved or if the reservoirs are very low, then the Municipality shuts water according to the planned timetables.
Water will be turned off to allow repairs to be carried out. Repairs and leaks are being prioritised in all drought affected areas.
“Consumers may experience water interruptions outside of the planned timetable because of this,” said Nandlal.
Areas supplied from Waterloo Reservoir are currently experiencing intermittent supply but not every day.
“We are sympathetic to the consumers’ needs and we are trying our best to minimize the effect of the drought restrictions,” said Nandlal.
As the system improves and depending on the reservoir levels, we may suspend closures on certain days as we do sympathise with our consumers.
The affected areas are as follows: Waterloo, Riyadh, Umdloti Beach, Mt Moreland, Canelands, Verulam CBD,uThongathi, CBD, Belvedere, Emona, Chelmsford, Van Rova, Ghandi’s Hill, Metcalf, Mgwaveni, Amanzamyama, Fairbreeze and Burbreeze areas.
Water saving tips for residents are as follows:
- Do not water the garden;
- Avoid washing cars if possible or wash using bucket water instead of hose pipe;
- Do not fill the swimming pools;
- Do not leave the tap running when brushing your teeth or for any other activities;
- A 2 minutes shower is better that bathing in a bath tub;
- Instead of washing clothes everyday with half load, wash every alternate day with a full load;
- When washing vegetables, wash them in a dish, instead of washing vegetables under running water;
- Read your meter on a daily basis to ensure there are no internal leaks in your property;
- If you are going away close the main water valve;
- When washing dishes do not use running water, rather fill the basin with water;
- Report leaks to our call centre;
- Use water sparingly and wisely, do not waste water in any way.
The City has prioritised sending water tankers to all affected areas, however, the water tankers are in high demand. Areas with prolonged outages will be prioritised with the available resources.
Water tankers are frequently bogged down by residents at the entrance of affected areas and most often cannot make it through to the end as they are empty by then.
The City is also trying to curb water pipeline bursts, and the conservation of water has always been a priority.
The Municipality urges residents to continue reporting illegal water connections and water leaks to the number 080 1313013.
Residents can also use the number 083 707 3013 to sms when reporting water leaks or email Eservices@durban.gov.za
Individual water restrictors had previously been installed to each water meter in areas affected by the drought. In this way consumers in lower lying areas were able to receive a limited amount of water at a reduced rate of supply. This allows reticulation systems to fill up faster so that water can also get to the consumers on the hill tops. Once all the restrictors had been installed in each area, the reticulation mains are left fully charged as all consumers will be receiving a continuous supply of water but at a much reduced flow rate. This is also to avoid the opening and closing of the system every day.
To view the water restriction timetable please visit: http://www.durban.gov.za/Resource_Centre/Press_Releases/Pages/Water-restrictions-in-uThongathi-are-expected-to-start-on-Friday,-03-July-2015.aspx
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