Durban - Some residents have gone two weeks without piped water. They include the frail, disabled and elderly who now have to carry water in buckets from tankers.
Some of the affected areas were Trenance Park, Buffelsdraai, Amaoti, Redcliffe, Dawncrest, Brindhaven, Cordoba Gardens, Sanaa Township and parts of the Verulam CBD. While piped water returned to some areas, those living in Trenance Park, were still without water earlier this week.
What the people say:
Suresh Sukraj a pensioner who lives on Celtis Close in Trenance Park said the situation was unbearable.
He suffers from arthritis and struggles to walk to the water tanker when it is on his road. Sukraj uses a walking aid and generally only travels between his bedroom and lounge.
Furthermore, he suffers from psoriasis, a skin condition, and needs lukewarm water to bathe in at least twice a day for his treatment.
His wife, Nalini, 55, who cares for him on a full-time basis, has a hip problem and also struggles to carry the heavy buckets of water.
She said there was a jojo tank on the road but it was used by everyone. Since there was no control, scuffles often broke out.
"We are old, we cannot be fighting for water, so we ask family members from surrounding areas to help," said Nalini.
The couple struggles to accept the situation.
"It is a disgrace to be living in Durban. Where is the City when we need them? They need to come here and see how we are suffering," said Sukraj.
Ashwin Buden, 42, of Celtis Place, Trenance Park said the area had experienced water outages for the last eight years.
"It is just getting worse. A couple of years ago, we had two 5000 litre jojo tanks put in the area by the municipality as a result of the ongoing water cuts. Sometimes we do get piped water, but it never lasts long. Then we have to lug out buckets back to the jojo tanks.
"It is very stressful. I need to make sure there is enough water for the day at home so my wife, who has arthritis, does not have to go to collect water. It is also very stressful on my son. If there is no water and he needs to go to school, we need to wait for about 10 minutes at the jojo tank to get water.
Buden said the only constant was the water bill.
"It still arrives every month. I pay about R800 a month, but most of the time, we don't have running water. How is that possible?" he asked.
Shakila Dhanukdhari, 59, of Madrona Drive, Trenance Park, is unable to use her left hand. A few years ago, her gas stove exploded while she was cooking and she suffered third degree burns on her hand.
"I'm a cripple. How can I be expected to carry heavy buckets of water on my own?” she asked. This is no way to live. Sometimes we cannot even go to the toilet or even wash our hair because there is no water.
"This is no way to live. It is like going back to the primitive ages when our forefathers had to suffer without running water."
Residents of Krantzwood Close, also in Trenance Park, said in addition to not having water, tankers refused to come onto their road because it was too narrow. As a result, they had to walk further to get water.
Magaret Hembert, 61, who lives on the road has to take care of her 95-year-old mother who has a heart problem and arthritis.
"I have to be with my mum most of the time and it becomes difficult to leave her and fill water. She needs help going to the toilet and with her daily routine. If I have to leave the home, I have to get someone to be with her."
Avril Balcoomar, 36, who lives in Hilltop, has to walk over a kilometre daily to fetch water from a jojo tank situated in Celtis Close.
When she goes for water, she leaves her aunt, Reena Singh, 54, who is disabled and wheelchair-bound, at home alone.
“It was very difficult. I do not have anyone to care for her while I am away so I lock her inside and try to get back as quickly as possible. We need the water to drink and for her to take her medication.
“Every day, I carried a five-litre bottle in one hand and several two litre bottles in a bag on my back. It was all I could manage.” she said.
Balcoomar said the water returned for a short while on Thursday.
“It was very frustrating as it was just a trinkle. As a community, we are tired of living like this. I feel as if we are being denied our basic right to water,” she said.
What the councillors say
Johnson Chetty is the councillor for ward 106. Water has since been restored in his area but he has been assisting Terenance Park residents.
The shortage of water in Trenance Park is caused by several factors and the common denominator is the poor commitment from eThekwini.
"Several hundred homes were built in the vicinity of Trenance Park but there was no increase in the capacity of the reservoirs. There is a programme currently, but it's a case of too little, too late.
"Another serious flaw has been the lack of water tankers. Councillors need to grovel before tankers are dispatched, if at all."
Chris Langa, PR councillor for Trenance Park, said permanent solutions needed to be implemented.
"We spoke with high level officials to try and help us. We are seeing results and we hope the problem will be solved."
Taking charge
Meanwhile, some residents have grouped together to form the Water Crisis Forum and do their best to ensure everyone gets water.
A resident, Sharleen Sewsunker, said: "We were having an issue where the tankers were only going on the main roads, and, as a result, those on the inner roads were not receiving water. We escalated the matter to the area PR councillor, Mr Langa.
“The community members have also been sitting in these water tankers and ensuring that they go into all the affected areas. We are very grateful for the support we have received from the various organisations and businesses, who have been providing water while using their own resources,” she said.
Those assisting with water include Venpak, SBA Protect, Lee’s Electronics, Jaisher Logistics, eThekwini Secure, Chatsworth Water Crisis Forum and local Mosques.
Msawakhe Mayisela, the eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, said the Eskom’s implementation of stage 2 load shedding last week (March 11 to March 16), resulted in interruptions to power supply in major bulk treatment works and several strategic installations within the City.
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