Durban water woes continue....

Kosmik

Kosmik

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Numerous Durban residents are hitting Day six with no water after the last recent repair at the main water processing plants infrastructure.

The system has been unable to achieve to equilibrium since the planned shutdown and resumption of the major water supply on the 21st November with many high lying reservoirs yet to be filled.

Stage six loadshedding has made the situation worse as rather than being excluded, pump stations are part of the shutdown whereas before they were deemed in exclusion zones.

tabloidmedia.co.za

Dry taps run dry, water crisis frustrates residents • Tabloid Newspapers

Frustrations are mounting after uMngeni-uThukela Water announced an 18-hour shutdown of the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works
tabloidmedia.co.za tabloidmedia.co.za



www.news24.com

eThekwini mayor concedes that complaints about service delivery and customer service are valid | News24

Amid a plethora of crises plaguing eThekwini - ranging from beaches with swathes of brownish water, dilapidated infrastructure, potholes, water woes, unattended contact centre calls, among other service delivery failures - Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has sought to sell the City's "customer service".
www.news24.com www.news24.com
 
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Latest release

ETHEKWINI NEWSFLASH
PUBLIC NOTICE
25 NOVEMBER 2023

INTERRUPTION OF WATER SUPPLY FROM THE NORTHDENE SYSTEM DUE TO LOAD SHEDDING

The Municipality is aware of the interruption of water supply in areas supplied by the Northdene System.

The reservoirs have not recovered from the recent shutdown of the Durban Heights Treatment Works, with the ongoing load shedding compounding the situation.

To remedy the situation, the City is closing reservoir outlets at various times to build storage and stability in the system. This is done working around the schedule of load shedding to maximise pumping to the dependent reservoirs.

The system may take about four days to fully recover. This also depends on consumption patterns and the impact of load shedding.

In the meantime, water tankers will deliver water to affected residents.

Affected areas include:
• Firwood reservoir: Malvern, Escombe, Northdene, Moseley, Queensburgh
• Shallcross Reservoir: Buffels Bosch, Burlington Heights, Savanah Park, and Shallcross.
• Klaarwater Reservoir: Crossmoor, Klaarwater, Savannah Park, Shallcross, and St Wendolins Ridge.
• Chatsworth 4 Reservoir: Arena Park, Buffels Bosch, Chatsworth Town Centre, Crossmoor, Ehlanzeni, Klaarwater, Kwamgaga, Montford, Moorton, Risecliff, Welbedacht East and West, Westcliff, and Woodhurst.
• Washington Heights: Mariannheights, Mariann Industrial Park, Nsiswakazi, Phumphele, Savannah Park, St Wendolins Ridge, and Umshinini.
• Intake Reservoir: Ezinyathini, Klaarwater, Luganda, Nagina, Nsiswakazi, Pineview, Regency Park, Sithundu Hills and Welbedacht West.

The Municipality apologises for the inconvenience caused.

For more information regarding water supply, members of the public can download eThekwini Municipality’s Mobile App to log faults or send WhatsApp to 073 1483 477. Alternatively, call the toll-free number 080 311 1111 or email [email protected]

ENDS
Issued by eThekwini Municipality’s Communications Unit.
 
Prior comms

ETHEKWINI NEWSFLASH
PUBLIC NOTICE
24 NOVEMBER 2023

INTERVENTIONS UNDERWAY TO BUILD UP RESERVOIR STORAGE IN VARIOUS PARTS OF ETHEKWINI

The Municipality would like to inform residents that it is working tirelessly to ensure that it builds up sufficient storage in reservoirs to improve water supply to residents.

This follows a shutdown on the 53-pipeline due to construction work by SANRAL and two subsequent bursts on the line. This resulted in reduced water volumes to the Western Aqueduct that conveys water to West areas, which affected water levels in the reservoirs. The recovery of water levels is taking longer than anticipated.

The City is also aware of water challenges currently being experienced in some parts of the North and South areas of Durban following the recent planned shutdown of the Durban Heights Water Treatment Works by uMngeni-uThukela Water due to maintenance work. This is due to a delay in the recovery of water levels in our reservoirs following the shutdown.

Our technical teams are continuously monitoring the reservoir levels.

In the meantime, residents will continue to be supplied with water tankers.

The Municipality apologises for the inconvenience caused.

For more information regarding water supply, members of the public can download eThekwini Municipality’s Mobile App to log faults or send WhatsApp to ‪073 1483 477‬. Alternatively, residents can call the toll-free number ‪080 311 1111‬ or email [email protected]

ENDS
Issued by eThekwini Municipality’s Communications Unit.

As recieved

TEMPORARY INTERRUPTION OF WATER SUPPLY AT MIDMAR WATER WORKS

The Midmar Waterworks is presently not running due to a breakdown of a chlorine evaporator. Our team is currently working on getting the breakdown fixed.

The following bulk reservoirs servicing the eThekwini Metro, uMngungundlovu District and Msunduzi Local Municipality have been affected by the breakdown: Groenkloof, Howick, Howick West, Vulindlela, Mpophomeni, Richmond, Worldsview, HD Hill, Umlaas Rd, Umbumbulu and Eston.

We will keep the public updated on progress in the restoration of supply.
We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
 
bwana said:
Sounds familiar - PE is also going through similar trials and tribulations.

Being without water is a way bigger problem than load-shedding.
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Yep, it's far worse. And our local pump station has started tripping since Friday so after a slot, another 2 hours for tech to come and sort and then it's a water shed slot so really a bad run around at the moment.
 
Kosmik said:
Well yes, the issue actually isn't the water. It's the failure of infrastructure repairs , maintenance and expansion.

Beurocracy amd politics.
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Yes, but I was clearing it up for bwana since their main issue, IIRC, was empty dams.

Their problem was the earth.
Our problem is the people.
 
Vorastra said:
Yes, but I was clearing it up for bwana since their main issue, IIRC, was empty dams.

Their problem was the earth.
Our problem is the people.
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Actually despite PE's almost empty dams, which are around 80% full to capacity now, it was absolutely an infrastructure problem.

Even when they had to decommission some of the dams, we were still getting 210Ml+ a day from the Gariep via the Nooitgedacht system. The problem was the various areas of the municipality [still] remained somewhat unlinked so they couldn't distribute the water to those areas served mostly by the dams. Thst has somewhat been mitigated by new pumping stations.

These days we're seeing collapses in our reticulation system. They just repaired and restored service to a large area only to find they may have damaged the repair while restoring the site... this is why I always make sure to have at least 5kl in my rainwater tanks.
 
DA statement for intervention

DA eThekwini to table urgent intervention amidst service delivery collapse
by Cllr Rory Macpherson - DA eThekwini Councillor

Date: 26 November 2023
Release: Immediate

The Democratic Alliance in eThekwini has seen services across the city deteriorate rapidly over the last few months. eThekwini Municipality is always in crisis mode and as the city edges closer to the festive period, it is even more beset with extensive and serious challenges in potable water supply, electricity outages and dozens of beaches spoilt by sewer spills.

Residents have been forced to live in intolerable conditions faced with rolling outages, sometimes both electricity and water at the same time. It is clear that the city is being run into the ground with not a single care for the ratepayers and absolutely no sense of emergency to fix anything. Officials are largely unresponsive and provide little or no feedback to councillors. eThekwini is riddled with service delivery failures, corruption, maladministration, crime and grime while senior officials, the Deputy city manager and city manager earn millions in undeserved salaries.

Residents in many communities have reached their tipping point and the writing is on the wall. The ANC and their coalition partners must GO! Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda ought to resign in shame for bringing a world class city to near ruin.

The DA as a collective is looking for urgent solutions and interventions which will help improve stability in the supply of water.

Herein below are some of the recommendations that the DA, will be tabling before relevant structures in days to come:

-Government to instruct uMngeni-uThukela water to increase its volume of water to eThekwini and not reduce volume as they have threatened.

- Petition National Government for additional urgent funding so that eThekwini can fast track critically needed reservoir capacity and upgrades as this requires billions of Rands which the hard-pressed ratepayer cannot afford to fund.

-Petition the Premier and Chair of COGTA (KZN legislature) to:

-Urgently list its intended interventions and funding in restoring Water security in eThekwini as well as supply time frames that ANC Bongi Sithole–Moloi made mention of in response to DA - MPL Heinz deBoer’s speech on the collapse of eThekwini water, 23 November 2023.

-Provide specialist engineers to urgently investigate and make available for public scrutiny, the state of eThekwini water and sanitation.

-Ask for SIU (Special Investigations Unit) to urgently investigate the ongoing outsourced tanker contracts which may have a link to ongoing vandalism and theft of eThekwini water infrastructure

-Insist that the city manager intervene in the management and allocation of municipal tankers in wards that face the ongoing water shortages and outages.

-Fight for fast tracking of supplement water from uMngeni/Hazelmere water treatment works into the Mt View reservoir as a short–medium term relief so as to bring about water stability in the Northern line of the Durban Heights aqueduct.

- Lobby Government that any capital costs for borehole water be 100% tax deductible. Lobby Government to make Jo-Jo (static) tanks VAT free (water shortages are now a national crisis).

-Argue in Council that all customers who pay a water utility bill be credited 25% of what they have been billed for in the last 12 months as a rebate for defective water delivery.

-Create an online petition for residents to rate the ANCs service delivery record specific to water over the past 12 months and make it available to the President, Premier and Media.

-The DA will not only vehemently oppose the anticipated ANC proposal of performance bonuses for the City manager, head of water and electricity but also call for government intervention to stop them being paid.

-The DA will ask that action be taken against the head of water and the city manager for being out the country at a time when residents, have a water and electricity crisis.

It is only the DA that has been leading this fight for the residents of this city.
 
Much as those things do all need to happen, after my dealings with the City over the last 18 months, they will amount to sweet fsck all.

There is zero accountability, and the city employees who do want to work and fix things, are constantly fscked over by management and policies.
As a very simple example, Supply Chain Management has relatively recently implemented a new policy for "minor contracts" valued at under R200k, that has seen the time line for approval go from 2-3 weeks to a minimum of 8 weeks.

You do not solve the corruption problems by adding more processes, if anything that just gives me opportunity for corruption.
 
ToxicBunny said:
Much as those things do all need to happen, after my dealings with the City over the last 18 months, they will amount to sweet fsck all.

There is zero accountability, and the city employees who do want to work and fix things, are constantly fscked over by management and policies.
As a very simple example, Supply Chain Management has relatively recently implemented a new policy for "minor contracts" valued at under R200k, that has seen the time line for approval go from 2-3 weeks to a minimum of 8 weeks.

You do not solve the corruption problems by adding more processes, if anything that just gives me opportunity for corruption.
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The interdepartmental fights are bad enough already.
 
Kosmik said:
Residents have been forced to live in intolerable conditions faced with rolling outages, sometimes both electricity and water at the same time.
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Funny that, here I'm sitting in the heart of DA Land, in a very high rates area, currently with no water and electricity. And it's not the first time this past week.
 
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Kosmik said:
The interdepartmental fights are bad enough already.
Click to expand...

Yeah that they are.. I already sort of bluntly told a senior manager at eThekwini that I don't give 2 flying fscks about their "departmental seperation" just fix the fscking problems when he started using it as an excuse as to why a major thoroughfare hasn't been fixed after over 18 months.
 
DA calls for council dissolution.




DA swiftly moves to dissolve eThekwini council
by Francois Rodgers - DA Provincial Leader

Date: 28 November 2023
Release: Immediate

Following extensive consultation with the DA provincial leadership the DA eThekwini caucus has reached a bold, but needed decision to call for the dissolution of the city’s council under the Municipal Structures Act. This follows the historical, unabated collapse of service delivery under the watch of the ANC-EFF coalition. Water, electricity, and sanitation services, to name a few have all suffered a similar fate of dysfunctionality.

The supply of water and electricity, which should be the norm, have now become the exception with more than a million residents suffering consistent outages, which in some cases last for weeks on end.

The DA has done everything in its power to constructively engage the Mayor, Municipal Manager and senior officials to ensure that that eThekwini is salvaged further collapse. Instead our relentless efforts have only been met with constant excuses of infrastructure collapse and sabotage.

We, along with the many frustrated and infuriated rate-paying residents of the city, see right through the smoke and mirrors that this is the doing of the ANC-EFF.

In the past, the DA explored every possible avenue to have eThekwini placed under administration in line with Section 139 of our constitution but this effort failed due to the ANC-led government’s, somewhat convenient, refusal to intervene in their ANC-led majority council. By doing so they ensured their fellow comrades are protected and further allowed the failing of this once beautiful city.

What the ANC forgets is that we, however, will never give up fighting for the people of eThekwini and to this end the DA is now seeking to invoke Section 34 of the Municipal Structures Act. Among other things the Act allows for municipal council to dissolve itself at a meeting called for this purpose and by adopting a resolution to dissolve council as backed by two-thirds of the council vote.

Once the dissolution is achieved residents of eThekwini can return to the polls and elect an effective council, with new executive leadership to take over the reins, bringing about stability and marking the start of the arduous journey of rebuilding a capable and ethical state in the city.

The DA calls on every opposition party in the city to join us, join our residents in the city who have been abandoned and totally neglected by the ANC. We owe it to our residents.


Media Enquiries



Francois Rodgers

DA Provincial Leader
082 557 6760
 
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