R321 million to combat water interruptions

In order to address water interruptions caused by ageing infrastructure in areas such as Zinkwazi, Blythedale and Stanger Manor, Ilembe district municipality has launched a multi-million rand project.
“We want our residents to know that our main focus is to refurbish old infrastructure as well as fast track the installation of prepaid meters,” said Ilembe mayor, Welcome Mdabe.
The project is funded through the municipal infrastructure grant and is to the value of R321 million which will be spread over the next three years.
“We have decided to have the prepaid metre system because there is a high percentage of our residents who are not paying their water accounts, which puts the municipality in an unstable financial situation. This leaves us with no money for maintenance and poor maintenance results in future water interruptions,” said Mdabe.
The project will also be used to upgrade pump stations as well as combat illegal connections by making sure that everyone has safe drinking water in their homes.
Indigent residents who are registered on Ilembe’s database will continue to enjoy 10 kilolitres of free water.
Communities in Maphumulo and Ndwedwe who previously did have water will benefit from the Ngotshane Dam that is currently being built in Maphumulo.
“We have water tankers supplying those communities with water but the programme is not without its challenges. Areas like Ntunjambili in Maphumulo are 70 kilometres from KwaDukuza, where we currently take water from, and that means a tanker can only make a single trip a day, which is not enough,” said Mdabe.
Ilembe will be launching their Tugela bulk water supply project in Mandeni on March 20.