DURBAN - Residents in Welbedacht are appealing to the eThekwini Municipality to install water pipes so they can wash their hands frequently and live comfortably.
For six years, Shamila Singh has risen at 4am to wash her clothing outside her home.
If she does not get an early start, she will not be able to complete her washing until around midday.
Singh, 58, lives in a tin home in B-section of the informal settlement in Chatsworth with about 100 other families.
She said the city installed a communal tap and pipe linked to each of their homes but they often had no water.
“Imagine over 100 families relying on one pipe for water,” said Singh.
“We don’t get water most mornings and evenings. If 10 people have their taps running, by the time the next person opens their tap, the water pressure is low.
“In addition to this, last week we did not have water for two days. Most times we have to store whatever water we get in buckets, but we can only keep it for a few days.”
Singh said she lived with eight family members and when there was no water, they had to use the stored water to bath before going to work.
“Or I have to walk through a grassy patch and up a bank to my daughter’s home in A-section, about 10 minutes away, for water. I am asthmatic. It’s not easy but I have to do it.”
The government has advised people to regularly wash their hands to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“But how are we going to do this?” asked Singh.
Dapheny Govender, who also lives in B-section, said: “On good days, we are lucky to get running water after 10am and again after 7pm. On bad days, our taps drip.
“Since the coronavirus entered the country, we are afraid to do anything. We try to wash as many times as we can, but with limited water we sometimes have to neglect our health and hygiene because the same water can be used for cooking or drinking.”
Kasturie Pillay, 50, a mother of two, said she sometimes resorted to doing her washing at 1am.
“The only time we get proper water from our taps is when everyone is asleep or busy doing something else. I wake up early to do what I need to. If I had to wait until the morning, my clothes and dirty dishes would sit for about four hours before I can wash them.”
She said people from their community could not afford to buy bottled water.
“This area has people who depend on grants and pensions or are unemployed. I sell Avon products but it has been quiet since the lockdown. I also collect a grant for my one child.”
Pillay said her friends gave her plastic bottles so she could store water.
“I keep it for three days because they say it’s harmful to store water in plastic bottles for so long. We don’t want luxuries. We want access to basic human rights like water. We can live without electricity but it’s difficult without water.”
Anoop Rampersad, ward 77 councillor, said the residents had not had proper access to water since 2018.
“I have asked the water department to include another standpipe or to make water more accessible but all they say is there is no budget to do anything. It’s worrying.”
Msawakhe Mayisela, the eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, said officials were sent to the site and they interviewed the complainants.
“They do have water, although the pressure is low. They were educated on what could be done to increase the pressure. We will be monitoring the area with further interventions at a later stage.”