With a few days left ahead of the holidays, many residents on the South Coast have been without water for almost 26 days and counting.

It has been a heart breaking struggle for most residents from Umtentweni to Hibberdene in the north and from Ramsgate to Umtamvuna in the south. According to Ugu District Municipality, it is working around the clock to restore water supply to areas affected by power outages and flooding.

Spokesperson, France Zama said the municipality is currently in the process of restoring water supply to areas where it has been disrupted due to ongoing rollout of Eskom power outages and downpours.

“The unending implementation of Eskom power outages is having a major negative impact on municipal water infrastructure as it continues daily to cripple the water generation regime of our major water works in the district.” He added that technicians were experiencing difficulties in completing a major pipe repair which runs across the Domba River in Southport due to flooding.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Ugu confirmed that technicians were back on site as the river flow was much lower making conditions safer to complete the repairs as this pipe break has disrupted supply of water to the northern areas and inland areas.

Ugu claims that water relief supply is being prioritised to the affected areas while conditions are being monitored for repairs to be conducted. While there is currently a high risk of water supply interruptions in most areas across the district due to power outages, the municipality will continue monitoring its systems and water quality while doing everything possible to ensure that the impact to the consumers is minimised.

“We call on our consumers affected by these ongoing repairs to bear with us while we contend with the challenges associated with the widespread power blackouts and flooding,” said Zama.

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