DURBAN: eThekwini Municipality has added 20 more tankers and static tanks to parts of the city left stranded without water for at least six days.
On Tuesday, city spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela confirmed that the tankers would be gradually added to ensure that residents affected by the shortages had access to clean water. He said this would bring the number of tankers servicing the areas to 54.
Mayisela urged residents to bear with them as it was hard work to usher in a permanent solution to the challenge.
"Enormous work has already commenced to source water from the colossal western aqueduct to feed some areas that are affected. This will be over and above areas that benefited from the bypass that resulted to water being channelled from the Hocking Place Reservoir as from Monday," he explained.
He said a contractor appointed to fix the broken pump at Northdene was working around the clock to ensure that this mammoth task was completed timeously.
"More stakeholders have been engaged, with an intention of fast-tracking the process of getting the pump resuming its operations to the benefit of all residents. The city urges residents who are preventing trucks to be considerate and refrain from doing so as this unlawful conduct has a negative impact to other residents. We are also looking at the option of putting static water tankers in all areas affected to ensure that residents have access to water as and when they need it," he said.
Msawakhe said as the country was seized with fighting the spread of Covid 19, the public was implored to maintain social distancing at all times when collecting water from water tankers.
"We understand the frustration of the public and apologise to all residents affected and thank them for understanding," he said.
Chairperson for Human Settlements and Infrastructure, Cllr Thanduxolo Sabelo, visited the Northdene Reservior pump station to inspect work being done to replace the broken pump.#WaterOutageWestSouthDurban pic.twitter.com/9eNydwcg6U
— eThekwini Municipality (@eThekwiniM) January 12, 2021
For most of the weekend, residents living in areas south and west of the Durban CBD have been left without water.
On Monday, the municipality said teams were hard at work trying to resolve the matter.
DA caucus leader in eThekwini Nicole Graham said the issue was avoidable.
"These are vulnerable communities and this could have been avoided if proper management and planning was put in place," she said.
For more information and enquiries regarding water supply, residents are urged to contact Call Centre number: 080 131 3013 or WhatsApp: 073 1483 477.