‘It will cost billions to fix water’

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FILE PHOTO

Published Jul 1, 2013

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Durban - The derelict state of water supply infrastructure on the South Coast will take more than R6-billion and 20 years to fix.

Johan van der Walt, the Ugu District Municipality’s head of water, made this comment during a visit to the area by the Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Rejoice Mabudafhasi on Sunday.

Municipal officials told the minister of the disintegrating infrastructure, that there were supply backlogs, and that at least 30 percent of potable water was being lost to leaks and illegal connections.

Van der Walt said existing dams were built during the apartheid era to cater for 100 000 people using 32 litres a day each.

Rural areas

“Since 1994, we have extended the supply to the rural areas. The population in the district is now 722 000, who use 60 to 80 litres per person per day. That means those dams can now only supply 50 000 people a day. Demand has outstripped supply,” he said.

Van der Walt said the Hibiscus Coast was flooded by at least 200 000 holiday-makers every December, putting further pressure on the aged system.

Catching up with water supply backlogs could cost up to R4bn, while at least R2bn was needed over the next 20 years to bring the ageing infrastructure up to date, he said.

An Umgeni Water official, who asked not to be named, confirmed they had a team working in the area to repair the recently burst pipes using a R700 million grant from the Department of Water Affairs for emergencies.

“The problem here is management. At least five years ago, someone should have said: ‘These pipes are old – we need to start replacing them.’ But planning has been non-existent. Water is a complicated matter. You need engineers, technicians, scientists, researchers. They do have the staff here – they are just too inexperienced,” he said.

Van der Walt concurred, saying challenges included the lack of experienced staff, but he also highlighted a lack of funding as one of the main obstacles.

“We need R950-million to sort out the pipes, three new dams costing R900-million each, refurbishment of springs and boreholes at R30-million. We need to invest in rainwater harvesting, which could cost about R120-million.”

The Municipal Infrastructure Grant for Ugu District Municipality was R250m a year, of which only R20m was allocated to water.

“With the funding we have, this is going to take years and years,” he said.

In December, 324mm of rain fell in the area over a matter of days, creating movement in the soil which caused the 60-year-old cement and asbestos pipes to crack and burst.

Residents and holidaymakers in Glenmore, Leisure Bay, Banner Rest, KwaNzimakwe, Munster and Port Edward have had irregular water supply for 17 days. In Port Edward, six water pipes have burst in the last few weeks. - The Mercury

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