Durban - A recycling plant will start pumping water into Ballito’s main supply, providing enough of it for the residents and the tens of thousands of tourists expected to descend on the North Coast town for the festive season.
“At the peak of the holiday season, water demand is expected to spike at 19 million litres from 8 million litres a day,” said Shyam Misra, managing director for the water utility, Sembcorp Siza.
He spoke to the Daily News at its Ballito offices last week.
Although a 50% water restriction has been imposed on Ballito by Umgeni Water from Monday, Sembcorp would be able to supplement this and cater for the increased demand by pumping up to 5 million litres of recycled water into the system.
Ballito is part of the iLembe district, one of the areas most affected by KZN’s worst drought in decades. It gets its supply from Hazelmere Dam, which is only 25.8% full.
Sembcorp is a private company which runs the town’s waterworks on a 30-year concession contract.
Since the drought was declared late last year, the usage in the town has decreased by 5 million litres a day. “Our residents are the ones saving water. The usage has dropped and we thank them for their efforts in decreasing consumption and helping to prolong the supply in Hazelmere Dam,” Misra said.
The company had embarked on a “very aggressive” marketing campaign, including consultations with residents, to bring home the severity of the situation.
On Friday, Sembcorp will hold a meeting to lay out its preparations for the holiday season and set out the contingency plans to ensure the uninterrupted water supply residents were accustomed to.
“When the drought hit last year, we began to look at how we were going to augment water supply to our residents,” Misra said.
