Durban - Residents have been urged to desist from stockpiling water as that adds further strain to the already fragile supply.
eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda made the call during the municipality’s executive committee this morning following the announcement that the city had taken a decision, along with Umgeni Water, to ration water to those areas supplied by the Durban Heights Water Treatment Plant for the next 10 to 12 months while repairs are undertaken to two-flood damaged aqueducts.
Kaunda announced last week that the city has to implement water rationing to ensure a continued supply to all areas.
The water rationing process kicked in on Monday and areas affected include:
Durban North, Westville, uMhlanga, Chatsworth, Ntuzuma, uMlazi, Phoenix, and Newlands West and East, Queensburgh, Shallcross among others.
In a media statement, Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said: “To effectively manage the shortfall so affected areas have access to water, eThekwini has introduced a system of rotational supply so that distribution is balanced. This will remain in place until pipeline repairs are completed.”
Kaunda said that while the projected time was 10-12 months, “we hope that the projects (to restore water) will take less than the time projected. But if the Durban residents can save about 40 megalitres per day, the decisions ( of rationing) can be reviewed”.
The city said since water rationing was a planned event, tankers would not be dispatched to cover the rationing period. They would only be dispatched to areas experiencing outages.