No water for a month…and still four weeks to wait
Several businessmen operating in the Port Edward area have closed up shop, while others are considering laying off staff as their income has been affected by the crisis.
Some 28 000 households which receive their water from the Umthamvuna Water Treatment Works have not had a reliable supply for the past month.
This means that in effect 119 000 people have been left high and dry.
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Councillors and civic leaders have been inundated with pleas from residents, desperate to know when their supply will be restored.
Not only is this negatively affecting people’s day to day lives, it is also having a serious impact on the area’s economy.
Several businessmen operating in the Port Edward area have closed up shop, while others are considering laying off staff as their income has been affected by the crisis.
In just one factory, 182 employees had received termination letters as a direct result of the lack of water.
“There’s no water, and therefore no business, and this is having a profound effect on the economy,” said one businessman.
Civic groups and volunteers who have been working tirelessly to support the affected communities have now called for the South Coast as a whole to rally to the cause.
The fear is that ‘donor fatigue’ will set in due to the sheer number of communities needing assistance.
Affected areas stretch from Southbroom to Port Edward and the adjacent inland areas of KwaNzimakwe, Ezinqoleni, KwaXolo, Gcilima, Thelawayeka, Mvuntshini, Shobamdlanzi, Mbecuka, Florida, Nodalane, Shobeni and Mlozane.
The volunteers have pleaded with Ugu to work alongside them to put in place a plan to make sure the most vulnerable people – the disabled and the elderly – receive adequate water directly to their homes.
DA councillor Dave Watson said this could be done in the interim while a long-term solution is sought. Meanwhile, Ugu has warned that supply is expected to remain sporadic for the next four weeks.
The municipality said supply to these areas had been affected due to the reduced treatment at the waterworks after a major mechanical breakdown at the abstraction pump station.
This, said Ugu, was as a result of flood water ingress laden with large stone pebbles and metal objects during last month’s floods.
Ugu spokesman France Zama said supply rotation had been executed for all areas, including Port Edward.
“A lead time of four weeks is expected for full operation of the waterworks. And in ensuring that there is minimal disturbance in supplying all communities, the municipality is alternating flow between the coastal and inland systems until such time we resume full production,” said Mr Zama.
The community is at the end of its tether and has penned three letters of complaint to the Human Rights Commission, has pleaded with the Department of Water Affairs to intercede and in a last desperate attempt, has even written to parliament asking it to step in.
Another issue raised by communities is the perceived lack of regular updates from Ugu.
“This would go a long way towards making people feel that their predicament is being taken seriously,” said Cllr Watson.
In turn, the municipality had called for ‘a high level of patience’ while it tries to restore water to the affected areas.
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