Durban – The eThekwini municipality will spend millions of rand in the coming years to address issues of water security.
The city is facing a challenge with the provision of water, particularly in the rural areas.
These challenges have been made worse by the recent flooding, illegal connections and the migration of people from urban to rural areas, putting significant pressure on infrastructure that was originally designed to cater for a few.
eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said in rural areas like Adams Mission, that have now become home to large mansions, they are faced with a challenge. Several large houses have cropped up in Adams over the past few years which is impacting on infrastructure.
He said due to the increase in the number of households in Adams Mission, certain parts of KwaMakhutha are now experiencing interruption of water supply.
“We committed the municipality to invest in water infrastructure to improve water supply in rural and township communities such as uMbumbulu, Ngonyameni, Inanda, Ntuzuma, Mnini and KwaMakhutha.”
He said before the devastating floods, the city, in partnership with Umgeni Water, was already implementing six major projects to address water challenges.
Among the projects Kaunda mentions, is the renovation of the Durban Heights Water Reservoir which will be completed before the end of June.
Other projects include the replacement of a water aqueduct to maximise water supply in uMlazi Water Reservoir at an estimated cost of R892 million and the upgrading of the uMbumbulu Pump Station, which will be completed in 2024.
Another large project is the construction of the R28 billion Umkhomazi Dam.
“We are confident that these projects will go a long way in addressing water challenges and contribute towards attracting more investment in the city.
“In addition, we are in the process of engaging Umgeni Water to establish the extent to which the time frames initially set have been negatively impacted by recent events.”
He said another major issue was that while most rural areas were accessing some municipal services like water supply, they were still not paying for them.
“Due to rapid urbanisation, these areas that were regarded as rural areas, saw a dramatic growth of households, resulting in an increase in demand for basic services.
“Therefore, the provision of basic services in rural areas continues to be an unreachable target because of the movement of people from the urban areas to the rural areas.”