WHILE the water supply has been restored in many areas in North Durban, an unintended consequence has been a number of bursts and leaks reported across Ward 35, 36 and 34.

Some reservoirs ran dry last week due to a disruption to the water supply caused by a control valve which had seized on the Nagle Dam aqueduct system supplying the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works.

This significantly reduced the volume of raw water reaching the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works, which supplies water to the City through the Northern and Southern Aqueducts.

Also read: uMhlanga ratepayers raise concerns over property valuations

The fault resulted in a supply deficit of approximately 150 megalitres of water to the eThekwini Metro since Wednesday last week (March 11).

Ward 36 (Councillor Heinz de Boer)

“We have had a rough time since Friday last week with the reservoir levels fluctuating quite a bit. We only had one water tanker for the entire weekend which wasn’t sufficient. The Virginia Reservoir which supplies several areas in my ward is stable for now, but that could change. The bad news is as the water has been restored, there has been pipe bursts and leaks on meters across the ward. There is also a critical shortage of plumbers which means some leaks are running for days,” he said.

Ward 35 (Councillor Bradley Singh) 

“We had some downtime on the first day with eight hours without water in Glenashley and 10 hours in uMhlanga Ridge. The leaks are to be expected because when the system runs dry and the pressure returns, this happens. There have certainly been more leaks since the water has returned. Unfortunately the City don’t have the human resources with regards to plumbers so bursts and leaks are taking much longer to get repaired,” he said.

Ward 34 (Councillor Andrew Akkers)

“Water supply has been restored and unfortunately there were no water tankers available during the downtime. While residents are happy to have water again, all the leaks that dried up whilst we were without water have sprung up again,” he said.

Also read: Use water sparingly as Virginia Reservoir recovers

Water system yet to be stabilised (eThekwini Municipality)

While water is now flowing from the treatment works and reservoir levels are improving, the system has not yet fully recovered.

“To support system recovery, the municipality will continue implementing its water rationing plan to maintain stability in the network and ensure fair water distribution across affected areas. Residents in some areas may therefore continue to experience intermittent supply or low water pressure as the network stabilises,” the City’s statement read.

For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook, X or Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here