Emergency pipeline a flop?

The emergency pipeline between the Tongaat River and Hazelmere Dam might be a flop, considering that it ends more than a kilometre from the dam.

The Courier visited the discharge point on Monday to inspect the pipeline and was surprised to find the outlet to be more than a kilometre from the dam and bone dry.

Any water flowing down the embankment would have to flow across flat land, through thick bush and trees and over a ridge before it reaches the dam. There is no sign of a canal or clear path through the bush.

However, as far as Umgeni Water is concerned, the pipeline project has been completed to specification and the transfer of water from the Tongaat River to the dam is underway.

“Water arriving at the discharge point flows down an embankment for about 1,5 km before arriving in the dam. Work on the 7,5 km emergency pipeline has been completed and the pipeline was commissioned about a week ago and water has begun flowing,” said Umgeni Water corporate stakeholder manager, Shami Harichander.

Meanwhile, the Hazelmere Dam has dropped another three percent in two weeks to only 37 percent. The last 15 percent of the dam’s water is mostly silt and can not be used. This means the usable water level is only 22 percent.

If the water level keeps dropping at the current rate, the pipeline does not work as intended and it does not rain very soon in the Greytown and Wartburg area (Hazelmere catchment area), it seems that our taps may run dry before the end of winter.