Ballito water restrictions make the difference

Ever since Ethekwini announced a meager 15 per cent water restriction in mid December last year, Sembcorp Siza Water (SSW) customers have been complaining about having to save 50 per cent.

However, SSW managing director, Shyam Misra said it was thanks to the 50 percent restrictions that they did not need to shut down Ballito’s water supply to achieve the targeted savings.

Misra said Ethekwini could get away with a 15 percent restriction because the dams that supplied the area were much larger.

He said by consistently achieving their savings target, Ballito’s water users have contributed towards extending Hazelmere Dam‘s storage by four months over a 12 month period.

Ballito’s water usage has been cut from 14 million litres per day (Ml/d) to nine Ml/d and Misra said thanks to SSW making recycled water available to contractors and the general public, people could still fill their swimming pools, the economy did not come to a standstill and jobs were not lost.

“Ilembe and Ethekwini are achieving their savings targets by shutting down water supply. This not only causes more burst pipes, but also affects the economy as businesses like hair salons, restaurants and construction sites are forced to stop operating during water shutdowns,” said Misra.

He said enforcing restrictions, rather than water cuts in Ballito has secured a constant availability of water for fire fighting.

The department of water and sanitation was so impressed with SSW’s drought management that they have sent a number of municipalities, including Richards Bay, Ugu and Greytown to Ballito to learn from Misra and his team.

Misra said minimising water loss was a high priority which was why they kept their response time to burst pipes and other emergencies to within an hour.

“The emergency pipeline that Umgeni Water laid between the Tongaat River and Hazelmere Dam has also been a big lifesaver and still pumps eight to ten million litres daily across to the dam,” said Misra.

He said forestry also had a big influence on Hazelmere dam.

“Water thirsty plantations in the Hazelmere catchment area, intercept a lot of water destined for the dam.”

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