Workers from Umzinyathi District Municipality have been sent to the Craigieburn area after a large water pipe sprung a leak.

The leak was spotted this morning by workers from the Endumeni Municipality, who were in the area cutting grass ahead of the fire season. The Courier was alerted of the leak and passed on the message to Umzinyathi’s Department of Water and Sanitation, which mobilised a team to carry out repairs.

The Endumeni area has suffered chronic water shortages in recent years, compounded by the prolonged drought and the under-capacitated Biggarsberg Water Works, which battles to cope with the ever-increasing demand for water. Water cuts are still the norm in Dundee and Glencoe, with the water pressure reduced in the day and after midnight, in a bid to conserve resources.

Nomonde Nzimakwe, Umzinyathi District Municipality’s Communication Officer, commented: “We rely on the Buffalo River, which is limited to 12 megalitres per day and our daily usage [Dundee and Glencoe combined] is 11 megalitres. The only way to ensure we keep up with demand is to ‘water-shed’, to ensure we use less than the 11 megalitres.”

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