WARD 36 councillor Heinz de Boer has urged residents to use water sparingly and responsibly after the forced shutdown of the Northern Aqueduct over the weekend.

On Sunday (March 8), the Northern Aqueduct, which carries water from Durban Heights Treatment Works to the areas in the north, had to be shut down for several hours due to a major leak.

While the leak has been repaired, the Virginia Reservoir, which supplies several areas, has been adversely affected, leading to calls for responsible water use.

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“Virginia Tower is running substantially low after the Northern Aqueduct shutdown on Sunday. The tower is almost empty and reservoir is below 2m. This knock-on effect was expected after the Aqueduct repairs. Instability in the levels can be expected for a few days and I anticipate that it could take as long as a week to recover fully.

“At this time we are asking residents to use water sparingly and responsibly. While the lower-lying areas are fine for now, areas like Umgeni Park, Park Hill and Rosehill have been affected. We are urging residents not to fill their pools or wash their cars for the time being until the levels stabilise,” he said.

De Boer said he has also liaised with senior management at the eThekwini Water and Sanitation Department.

“I’m closely monitoring the situation but we cannot allow Virginia Tower to run dry as it could adversely affect residents,” he said.

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