Patience with Dundee’s ongoing water woes has finally run out, with residents voicing anger and disbelief after yet another major outage — this time coinciding with the Hindu festival of Diwali, the festival of lights.

“The Hindu community is celebrating Diwali — not a good time to be without water,” said Watt Road resident Vikash Deena. “Instead of celebrating this day, people must now sit in frustration with no water.”

The latest disruption began early on Saturday when the town’s main supply pipeline ruptured behind Diaz Road. Contractors replaced a broken section, but the ageing network continues to crumble under pressure.

A local contractor who preferred not to be identified told the Courier that due to the outdated infrastructure, repair teams are limited to “patch jobs”. The ongoing water-shedding schedule — where water is turned on and off to conserve supply — has added even more strain to the fragile system.

Although water was restored late on Saturday, high-lying areas only received supply on Sunday afternoon. Just hours later, another break left the entire Dundee area dry from Sunday evening.

By Monday morning, residents had received little official feedback fromthe  Umzinyathi District Municipality. However, Endumeni Councillor Naresh Gopie said a response had finally come through:
“Apparently, there’s another section of the affected pipe with a problem. I will post updates on the group as they progress through the day.”

Frustrated residents have demanded transparency and accountability from Umzinyathi officials.
“Many of the people responsible for our water don’t even live locally, and we’re left to suffer,” said one irate Peacevale resident who did not want to be named.

There yet to be an official response from Umzinyathi District Municipality.

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