iLembe to address Blue Drop water findings

iLembe District Municipality is working on rectifying the shortcomings in its water supply systems as identified in the Blue Drop report.

The report, released earlier this month, pointed out problems such as the absence of water use licenses and suggested different audits for iLembe’s water treatment works.

These include proper checks on operations and compliance, measuring water flows, calibrating flow meters and reading them manually at smaller sites, and ensuring supervisors follow the rules.

Despite the challenges, iLembe’s overall score in the Blue Drop report improved marginally, reaching 87.09% this year compared to 86.72% in 2014.

The municipality manages 18 water systems serving more than 600 000 people. This excludes the 12,5km² area formally known as the ‘Dolphin Coast’, which incorporates Ballito, Shaka’s Head, Shakaskraal, Tinley Manor, Shayamoya and Etete.

A 30-year concession contract was awarded to Siza Water to manage the coastal strip’s potable water and sewerage systems in 1999, becoming the first water Private Public Partnership, or PPP, in South Africa.

Siza Water was ranked third nationally at the recent drinking water quality Blue Drop Awards.

In KwaZulu-Natal, only three municipalities were awarded the blue drop certification for their water supply systems:
• uMngeni-uThukela bulk water service provider for the uMgungundlovu water supply system.
• Msunduzi Local Municipality for the Umsunduzi water supply system
• iLembe District Municipality for its Dolphin Coast water supply system (managed by Siza Water).

iLembe District Municipality spokesperson, Zee Nqala, acknowledged the challenges highlighted by the report and said the municipality was in the process of applying for water use licenses at all treatment plants.

The Nsuze water treatment works had a valid water use license during the audit.

To tackle the suggestions from the report, Nqala said iLembe would undertake process audits on its water treatment works.

Budgeting for this has been set for the next financial year.

The municipality already has laboratory equipment for some sites and recently launched a tender process for more equipment.

The bigger sites will be prioritised, after which smaller sites will be attended to.

The detailed Blue Drop report investigated 958 water supply systems from 144 water services authorities.

It looked at, among others, the condition of infrastructure, how it is operated and maintained, the treatment processes and the expertise of the staff.

Only 26 water supply systems received Blue Drop certification for scoring above 95%.

This is far fewer than in 2014 when 44 systems reached the standard.

The number of water supply systems in a critical state increased from 174 in 2014 to 277 in 2023.

Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news

WhatsApp Broadcast Service: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BdGZsGJEAf04AXZ2yLWi8T