Tongaat residents are still without water, relying solely on water tankers and donations from charities for supply.

Last week, traffic in and out of Tongaat and Westbrook was brought to a standstill as entrance and exit points were blocked by angry residents demanding water.

Last Thursday, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said they had allocated 28 water tankers to serve Tongaat, but some residents claim they never see water tankers in their streets.

Others said tankers only arrived once a week and were then half-filled with dirty water.

Kaunda said no more tankers could be allocated to Tongaat since other areas also had to be supplied.

“There are three wards in Tongaat, which means each ward has more than one tanker delivering water. Other wards are served by only one tanker,” Kaunda said, addressing a public meeting in Tongaat last Thursday when he was expected to introduce the contractor to rebuild the plant. This was delayed because of a last-minute objection.

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The question is why, if 28 tankers had been allocated to Tongaat, some residents were not receiving water. Residents wanted to know who was responsible for the logistical planning.

eThekwini municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said they supply the southern parts of Tongaat through the Nyaninga reservoir and were sending tankers to the rest of the Tongaat area daily.

“Forty-eight static tanks and 11 boreholes have also been installed while a donated package plant provides non-drinking water to residents. The city relies mainly on ward councillors to report insufficient water tanker distribution. We advise residents to get in touch with their respective councillors so that complaints can be investigated,” said Mayisela.

Ward 58 councillor Geoff Pullan said his ward received between four and five tankers a day, arriving at 11 am because they have to queue at the filling point.

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“Because of diesel delays, breakdowns and drivers reporting sick, municipal tankers tend not to operate in the evenings. Unfortunately, we do not reach each suburb every day,” said Pullan.

He said another challenge was that tankers could not get to every street because they were also filling up the JoJo tanks.

“We also have to supply water to Magwaveni, Brake Village, High Street, Gandhinagar, Gopalall Hurbans, Plane Street, Pension Quarters, Sastri Circle, Belgate, Umdloti, Seatides and a number of informal settlements,” said Pullan.

Ward 61 councillor, Dolly Munien, said her ward received seven tankers, of which one goes to Emona.

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“The other six are used for topping up JoJo tanks in Flamingo Heights, Mithangar, Watsonia, Chelmsford Heights, Belvedere and Buffelsdale. There are 116 JoJos. It is difficult to operate in all areas. I do not think there are 28 tankers in Tongaat on a daily basis,” said Munien.

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