DURBAN - THE Ugu District Municipality has vowed that it, along with the local Ray Nkonyeni municipality, was working around the clock to fix the water crisis that has affected the area.
“We are experiencing a high level of burst water pipes as a result of an increased water demand. Due to the high volume of burst pipes, response time for repairs becomes inadequate and therefore there are areas experiencing intermittent water supply,” said Ugu District Municipality spokesperson France Zama.
According to the DA, large parts of Margate, Ramsgate, Southbroom and Port Shepstone were without water. It said some areas had been without water for weeks.
Zama said the areas that were mostly affected were the coastal areas.
“We are dealing with this situation. We have met with the members of these communities and given them the assurance that this will be fixed. We have also made alternative supplies and have sent water tankers, especially in areas where there is no water at all,” said Zama.
He acknowledged that as a municipality they were using ageing infrastructure, due to lack of funds for maintenance.
“We also have residents who are not paying for water and as a result our revenue stream is constrained. We are reliant on funding from the government, which is not enough to even begin with the replacement of ageing infrastructure. We are playing a balancing act, we need to provide water, do repairs, do maintenance and also extend the supply of water in areas that didn’t have water, like the homelands.”
Zama said there were immediate and long-term measures in place to resolve the water crisis.
The immediate plan would be to conduct repairs where there were issues, although the main aim was to eventually replace the entire ageing infrastructure.
“We have a plan in place, we have costed it and it is almost coming to R4 billion in terms of these replacements.
“We are engaging government departments for assistance, nationally and provincially. Cogta (Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs) seems willing to assist in fixing the issues,” he said.
Zama profusely apologised to the residents for the inconvenience.
“We are directing all the resources that we have towards fixing these issues and we are ensuring our communities that as a water services authority, we will ensure they get water, especially during this festive period. That is our obligation and we are committed to doing so.”
The DA’s Dr Rishigen Viranna, who is the party’s constituency head for Ugu South, said the Ugu District Municipality finds itself in a situation where, due to the variety of factors impacting negatively on water provision, it is unable to provide this basic service, and the efforts of a multidisciplinary, inter-governmental approach are now necessary.
“The provisions laid out in Section 44 of the Disaster Management Act need to be brought into effect to address the disaster that the district is now facing. There is a standing resolution of the Ugu District Municipal Council for the declaration of a local disaster area.”
Viranna added that while it was a prime tourist season for many businesses along the KZN South Coast, many tourists were now leaving establishments due to the water issues.
A resident who emailed Independent Media on the issue wrote: “It has been days for some people and weeks for others. No water in the taps of South Coast residents. Water tankers dropping off water has its own set of health hazards, with the water often dirty and not drinkable.
“Ugu municipality is infringing on the rights of people on the South Coast. This needs to urgently be rectified.”
THE MERCURY