LEAD authority, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), says the City of uMhlathuze must immediately implement their drought tariffs and apply hefty fines on households exceeding 15kl per month.
Speaking at the Water Crisis Task Team meeting held last week, DWS Chief Engineer: Water Use KZN, Norman Ward, painted a picture of apparent blindness to the dire reality of the drought situation.
Goedertrouw Dam currently sits at 22% capacity compared to 45% this time last year and predictions are that by November the dam will be at 10%, and by December at 7%.
‘We have already issued a directive to Mhlathuze Water to restrict the water allocation to uMhlathuze Municipality to force compliance with level 4 restrictions,’ said Ward.
‘We will be reviewing the current level 4 restrictions in May, and should it be necessary we will definitely increase restrictions to ensure the dam does not fail.’
The bottom line is the city will only receive a certain amount of water per day, and if users continue to ignore ongoing calls to reduce water consumption our taps will run dry on a daily basis, and eventually altogether.
The meeting also noted that the practice of filling water tanks with municipal water rather than rain water, is not acceptable, as it simply deprives other residents.
Meanwhile, water shortages in the Mzingazi area falling under the Mfolozi Municipality has seen those residents swarming to the bus rank in Meerensee to fill drums.
Day and night vehicles have been bringing people in to collect ‘free’ water – often leaving the tap wide open and causing significant wastage.
While acknowledging the humanitarian crisis, many local residents took to Facebook to complain that city ratepayers would foot the bill.
