Taxi drivers washing their taxis on the side of the M4 with what many perceive as drinking water from our main water supply in Ballito, has residents hot under the collar.
People are angry because the town is still under strict water restrictions, forbidding anyone from washing their car with drinking water, and the town may still run out of water before December if the drought continues.
“I am sure dirt is going into our water supply because they lower their buckets with rope etc to get to the water after they have moved the seal which is supposed to be locked,” said Ballito resident, Brigid Ewan.
Sembcorp Siza Water (SSW) inspected the mentioned source of water and confirmed that the taxis were being washed with run-off water from the roof of the 15 million litre Avondale reservoir.
“A test for chlorine at the chamber was conducted and there was no chlorine present, indicating that the water is not from the drinking water supply,” said SSW managing director, Shyam Misra.
He said that particular chamber was part of the storm water system of the reservoir site at Avondale.
“After rains there is a constant discharge from the roof of the reservoir. This rain water ends up in the drainage system and eventually in a natural water drain at the M4 robots near Engen,” said Misra.
He said the Avondale reservoir drain pipes could be silted and hence it took a few days for the water on top of the roof to flow to the chamber. The chamber belongs to Umgeni Water and Misra said they would inform them.
“We are glad that the taxis are using rain water. At least we know they would not need to use potable water elsewhere,” said Misra
He said they inspected the chamber again on Monday and found that it was drying up.
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