THE mayor of eThekwini Cyril Xaba said Clover, a bulk water consumer, no longer draws water from the Firwood Reservoir which supplies residents of Ward 63, a move which has been largely welcomed by the community.

Xaba was responding to questions from the media during an oversight visit last Wednesday at the Southern Aqueduct construction site, at the Moseley Park section of the project.

The mayor said this development follows residents’ complaints that Clover was consuming too much water, to their detriment.

In early May, residents marched to the factory on Richmond Road to voice their struggles with water supply.

Last Wednesday, Xaba said the factory now draws water directly from the aqueduct.

“I am happy there has been progress,” said Xaba, who added that Clover has indicated that it also plans to recycle some water.

Ward 63 councillor Chris van den Berg said the factory has been disconnected from the Firwood Reservoir and is now sourcing water directly from the main pipeline which is being replaced. Van den Berg said this has had a “massive impact” for residents in high-lying areas and added that this was still at a testing stage to see how exactly it will affect the whole system.

The chairperson of the Ward’s Water Crisis Committee, Jacques Thyssen, said since Clover no longer draws water from the reservoir there has been a huge, “very welcomed” difference with water supplied in Moseley Park and Firwood for just over a month, with the reservoir almost reaching capacity, “something which has not been seen in the last three years”.

Thyssen said the demonstrations, memorandum of demands, media coverage of the plight of residents, as well as other efforts, bore fruit.

A resident, Prem Mungal, said in the past month the number of complaints about water issues sent to a community WhatsApp group have “dropped to almost none”.

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Meanwhile, at a June 17 Executive Committee (Exco) meeting it was resolved that the municipality’s Water and Sanitation Unit will intensify measures to enhance water management through various initiatives. These will include installing strategic Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs) in key network zones.

The unit’s management had presented an action plan to Exco which outlined how PRVs help to manage pressure effectively and reduce incidents of bursts and leaks which results in excessive water losses.

The municipality’s communications and marketing directorate said this plan is in line with the Water Turnaround Strategy that seeks to reduce non-revenue water until it reaches acceptable standards.

“Other initiatives on the action plan include maintenance of PRVs, restrictor installation, to rehabilitate and refurbish district metered areas, performance-based contracts for leak detection and repairs, and installing data loggers and trunk main pressure sensors. These initiatives are at the procurement process,” reads a statement issued by the directorate, which added that reports tabled before Exco will proceed to Full Council for final approval.

The municipality has announced that the next full council meeting will be on Thursday, June 26 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, 45 Bram Fischer Road, Durban starting at 10:00 and that the meeting will be streamed live from the municipality’s social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube).

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