Arising from the crisis currently being experienced at the Hazelmere Dam where dam levels have dropped to 29 percent, the eThekwini Municipality is imposing 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 says 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.Back to bad habits
The City has also found that many consumers have reverted to their bad habits of wasting water. The Municipality is urging 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,” says 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,” says 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.
