City water woes continue to frustrate residents
Residents in some areas of uMhlathuze, such as Mzingazi and eSikhaleni, are constantly bearing the brunt of ageing infrastructure and other faults resulting in hours - if not days - without water
WATER leaks and dry taps continue to plague the city as local government battles under the constraints of deteriorating infrastructure.
Residents in some areas of uMhlathuze, such as Mzingazi and eSikhaleni, are constantly bearing the brunt of ageing infrastructure and other faults resulting in hours – if not days – without water.
At the other end of the spectrum, water leaks from burst pipes and poor maintenance plague residents around Richards Bay and Empangeni.
Last week a frustrated Empangeni resident told the ZO that a burst pipe outside his house has turned the area into a swamp.
He claimed to have reported the fault to the municipality a month ago and received no assistance since because the municipality did not have the correct equipment on hand.
City communications manager Mdu Ncalane, said they would be looking into the issue.
The City’s quarterly report recently tabled at Exco showed that operations and maintenance of plant and bulk water infrastructure continue to be a massive problem due to ageing infrastructure and budget constraints.
Projects listed as a priority in 2017 are now being undertaken as a matter of urgency.
The major issues recorded in the last quarter included frequent power failures at the pump stations which supply Ngwelezana, Matshana and Ndabayakhe areas.
Low water levels became a problem at the eSikhaleni pump station, and Mzingazi was out of operation for some time due to maintenance at the pump station. Council was told that the increase in the number of incidents in this quarter was mainly a result of power outages due to faulty equipment and load-shedding.
There were also increased cases of vandalism of pump stations in the city and as a precaution, security has been deployed to plants that are considered high risk.
The Ngwelezana waterworks has been operating under severe stress due to the increasing demand for water in the area.
Despite challenges, the city is in a comfortable position in terms of water availability.
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