Durban - The upgrades to the Cato Ridge component of the Western Aqueduct has been successfully completed. The city made the announcement earlier on Wednesday following a site visit by senior management officials to the site.
The city's Msawakhe Mayisela said despite the inclement weather, officials walked around the site in the rain, inspecting pipes, air pressure and water flow. The inspection forms part of government’s Siyahlola Programme which is aimed at ensuring effective monitoring of infrastructure service delivery.
Durban mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda said the monitoring of projects is very important.
“Our communities own these projects as they are the direct beneficiaries of service delivery. It is up to us to keep residents abreast of what is happening on the ground. We are happy that this component of the project is finally complete and the area will now have a steady supply of water, Kaunda said.
The Western Aqueduct Bulk Pipeline Project will run from Inchanga to Ntuzuma and will significantly strengthen the capacity of bulk water supply and meet the needs of the greater eThekwini region for the next 30 years.
"We are glad that this particular water supply system is now complete. Although some areas went without water, we are on track and the project has been successfully completed and everyone should have water by Wednesday evening as planned during the process, however, they were advised to use water sparingly as supply was coming from our reservoir storage," said Bhavna Soni, Deputy Head of the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit.
Soni said with this component of the project complete, residents can be assured that they will receive water speedily.
“With the new infrastructure, we have a shorter distance and bigger pipe. This will boost the water system in the area,” added Soni.
She said the Cato Ridge system was particularly important as they had to follow a pipe-jacking process.
“It was a very tough project because we had about 200 metres of pipe-jacking which meant that we had to install the pipeline under the N3 highway and connect it once again," Soni said.
All queries regarding water supply must be referred to the city's Call Centre via: 080 131 3013 or 073 148 3477.