WARD 34 residents are pleading for relief and demanding answers about ongoing water rationing, which has left hundreds of households scrambling to secure water almost every night.

Residents of Effingham, Avoca, Kenville and Sea Cow Lake say this has been their way of life since April 2024. According to the aggrieved residents, there is no schedule for the water rationing, and they were not informed by the eThekwini Municipality that it would be an ongoing practice.

The water is cut off at any time of the day, affecting only areas supplied by the Effingham Reservoir. “We are never told when the water will be cut off. You either wake up to dry taps or go to sleep not knowing whether you will have water to bath in the morning,” said the aggrieved residents.

“Through all this, we still end up with inflated water bills because of the air flowing through our pipes as a result of the constant opening and closing of the valve.”

Anil Beekrum, chairperson of the Kenville and Sea Cow Lake Ratepayers and Residents Association, said they are demanding answers and a solution from the City. He suggested a trial run in which the reservoir valves would remain open, particularly during peak-demand periods.

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“They need to open the reservoir at 02:00 so that we have running water during peak times. It is a struggle in the morning, especially for those leaving home early. You need water to get ready but are unable to. Think of families with children, and what they must be going through,” said Beekrum.

“Recently, we had an incident where the water was not shut off overnight. The next shift came in the morning and closed it, meaning that we had no water until around 10:00, when the mistake was realised. This goes to show that water does not need to be cut off.”

His concern was echoed by Avoca resident Rebecca Pillay, who also questioned the need to shut off the valves at the reservoir.

“From my understanding this should only be done when the water is low within the reservoir, but this is not the case with the Effingham Reservoir,” said Pillay. “The municipality once did a trial run for a week without shutting the valve, and we had uninterrupted service, which suggests there was sufficient water during that period.”

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According to the residents, around 30 streets in Ward 34 are affected by the water rationing. Like many parts of eThekwini, the area is also plagued by water leaks.

Residents say these leaks raise questions about why water rationing is necessary if, as they believe, there is sufficient water in the reservoir. Ward 34 councillor Andrew Akkers said the leaks are partly the reason that the shutdown was instituted for the area.

“If the water is not shut off, the leaks will affect the capacity of the reservoir. The water is shut off during off-peak periods to build capacity for peak times. Repairing the leaks would solve the problem,” said Akkers.

He confirmed that, for the past nine months, the water is closed every night from 20:00 to 04:00. The eThekwini Municipality had not commented by the time of publishing.

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