While the Northern areas of eThekwini are grappling with intermittent piped water supply, a main pipeline has been leaking into the Umgeni River for close to 30 days.
A Clare Estate resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said he noticed water pouring out of the pipeline at the end of December 2024. He thought the eThekwini Municipality would repair it. The resident then logged a complaint with the municipality on January 9.
The pipeline crosses over the Umgeni River from the Umgeni Deco and Lifestyle Park on Intersite Avenue. By Tuesday, the pipe had still not been repaired.
“The service is appalling from the City. I have seen many plumbers come to the site only to find out that they cannot repair the leak. I also noticed that access to the pipe was closed off by a fence and the gate seemed to be locked,” the resident said.
“Service has been bad as usual with staff capturing incorrect information such as putting it down as a minor leak on a small pipe at the side of the road in Reservoir Hills. However, it is, in fact, a major leak that has been ongoing since before 01 January 2025.
“A tremendous amount of water is still being lost and up to now this leak is still there. When I called on 13 January to follow up, I was told that no staff had been assigned to the problem yet. That call centre agent was rude and unhelpful. I even asked to speak to a senior person at the help centre but, after making me wait for a while, the call was cut,” the resident said.
The resident said that it was “very sad” to see water being wasted. The municipality did not provide any details on what type of water was in the pipeline and whether it was wastewater or water. They also did not specify what had caused the delay in carrying out the repair.
On Tuesday, Ethekwini spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said a plumber was dispatched to conduct an assessment.
“We will respond once we receive a diagnostic report and information from the relevant departments,” she said.
In October 2024, UMngeni-uThukela Water Board (UUW) implemented water curtailment throughout the eThekwini Municipality.
The water curtailment was the directive of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) who issued a notice to UUW to reduce the volume of water abstracted from the uMgeni system to their licensed volumes of 470 million m3/annum.
On Tuesday, Ethekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba said the water system had recovered somewhat to warrant a review of the water curtailment.
“We still have water supply challenges, now worse than before. I am convening an urgent meeting on Friday to discuss this situation,” Xaba said.
His focus will be on the following:
- A list of the areas that had water supply interruption in the last three months
- The days the communities were without water
- Investigation and findings in each case
- Action taken and recommendations
Verulam Water Crises Committee spokesperson Roshan Lil-Ruthan said communities have been left without water for days.
“For decades, the provision of essential services such as water, sanitation, and electricity has been neglected, with no maintenance or upgrades carried out. When we, the people, seek answers from our so-called leaders, we are met with silence. This silence is a testament to their complete lack of responsibility and accountability. The plight of Trenance Park residents, as an example, is particularly harrowing, as they have been burdened with exorbitant bills amounting to tens of thousands of rands, despite having no access to water,” he said.