KZN facing worst drought since 1982

FoXtroT said:
Umdloti
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Rules implemented differently between municipalities.

In KwaDukuza we get our water from Sembcorp Siza Water & our electricity from the KwaDukuza municipality.

Umdloti falls under Ethekwini which is massive. I think you guys get your water from the municipality, not sure about power as in some other places people get it from Eskom.


I must say Siza is really on the ball here. Can't recall the last time I saw a leaking pipe gushing water down the road & if something needs fixing they are there in a flash, efficient & friendly service. Two weeks ago some builder took out a mains pipe in an estate while I was waiting for someone in their driveway, a few minutes later the place looked like something out of a movie with all the guys 'racing' in to come and fix it. They've also had quite a few boreholes sunk around the show.
 
KZN officials differ on emergency drought relief plan

Two water sachet machines, 80 static tanks as well as 20 additional water tankers are just some of the equipment that have been identified and provided by City to drought-affected areas in Durban - among them Verulam and La Mercy.


However deputy mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala has warned against the hiring of 25 bakkies at R217 000 a month.


"It would be too much. With that money you can even get a car," she said.
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More at:https://www.ecr.co.za/news-sport/news/kzn-officials-differ-emergency-drought-relief-plan/
 
PMB to impose water restrictions

Pitermaritzburg - Water restrictions are set to hit the provincial capital next month.

Msunduzi municipality’s acting spokeswoman Nqobile Madonda confirmed this week that water pressure in the city would be decreased by 15% in all areas in a month’s time.

Timer controllers for pressure reducing valves were already being installed across the city’s water supply.

Madonda assured residents and business owners that there would be no “water shedding”.

“Consumers will still be receiving water at all times, merely at a reduced volume,” she said, adding that pressure would be dropped during the day, but would drop further at night, when the demand for water invariably decreases.

The price of water was also set to rise in July, at the start of the new financial year.

Madonda encouraged residents and business owners to use water sparingly in the face of the crippling drought.
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More at:http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/pmb-to-impose-water-restrictions-1977078
 
Stiff fines for water wastage in KZN

Durban - Durban and Pietermaritzburg residents are facing stiff fines and mandatory water restrictions of 25% or more over the next few months unless there is an immediate saving of 15% in the province’s two largest urban centres.

That was the warning from Umgeni Water on Tuesday as the levels of the Midmar and Albert Falls dams continued to shrink, despite recent rainstorms in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

“By the time we come to the month of May it may no longer be a 15% restriction, but possibly 20%, 25% or even more. People really need to understand the seriousness of the situation and to change their lifestyles to save water immediately,” Umgeni Water general manager Steve Gilham told a media briefing in Durban on Tuesday.

He said Midmar and Albert Falls – the two largest dams supplying Durban and Pietermaritzburg – had not been full since March 2014.

Their water levels had continued to decline since then and both were expected to be “virtually empty” by the end of this year unless there was a meaningful reduction in water volumes drawn from them.

Currently, both dams were at the lowest level in 35 years, with Midmar at 46% and Albert Falls at 37%.

Also speaking at the briefing, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Afairs MEC, said she had issued a directive to the eThekwini, Msunduzi and uMgungundlovu municipalities (and parts of Ugu) to ensure an immediate saving of 15% to avert a crisis that would affect up to 5 million people supplied by Midmar and Albert Falls.
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More at:http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/stiff-fines-for-water-wastage-in-kzn-1992292
 
Proposed fines are for people living in the water shortage are not the whole of Durban
 
UPDATE: uMkhanyakude management in court over water shortages

LEGAL proceedings got underway at Mtubatuba High Court on Friday following the subpoena of various uMkhanyakude District Municipality (UKDM) managers who were tasked with explaining, under oath, why Mtubatuba and surrounding areas is devoid of water.

‘The water supply in Mtubatuba has been erratic at best, resulting in many delayed trials at the regional, district and high courts, and has necessitated this formal enquiry,’ said Judge Anton van Zyl as proceedings opened.

Among those subpoenaed on Wednesday were uMkhanyakude Mayor Jeff Vilane, Acting Municipal Manager Nonhlanhla Ndlela and Acting Director of Technical Services Desire Sibanda.

Ward 5 Councillor from Mtubatuba, Ndumiso Zuma, received his subpoena just minutes before the start of the enquiry.

One hour was assigned for testimonies, so only Zuma and Sibanda testified.

When asked to explain the difficulties he has experienced in attempting to report leaks and initiate repairs, Zuma merely said the crisis relates to the drought and he would not delve into the problems of water supply in the area.

Van Zyl’s questions to Sibanda focused mainly on the ongoing leak adjacent to the N2 near the Mtubatuba exit and why it has been left to gush out thousands of litres of purified water for weeks.

‘The cost of remedial action relative to the cost of water loss at the N2 leak is minor,’ said van Zyl, when Sibanda cited lack of funds as the reason the leak had gone unrepaired.
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More at:http://zululandobserver.co.za/105143/umkhanyakude-management-in-court-over-water-shortages/
 
Never knew Mtubatuba had a High Court, you learn something new every day.
 
Mtuba water crisis gets priority

WATER shortages in and around Mtubatuba will be a thing of the past.

This, after COGTA (Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs) officials were placed under pressure by KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu to fix the failing system, failing which ‘heads will roll’.

Following Mchunu’s emergency meeting at Mtubatuba Municipality, action plans were put in place to rectify the situation immediately.

According to COGTA’s Deputy Director General of Development and Planning, Mthokozisi Duze, tensions around Mtubatuba’s water situation had become racial, which required immediate provincial intervention.

At Mtubatuba Waterworks, two duty pumps and one standby should always be in working condition.
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More at:http://zululandobserver.co.za/112846/mtuba-water-crisis-gets-priority/
 
Geyser issues persist during water cuts

T happens when you least expect it, the day your geyser decides that it’s had enough. In recent times however, since the water restrictions were put in place, more and more residents are having trouble with their geysers. Northglen News recently caught with up local plumber, Joe Boy, who said he has had a 30 per cent increase in call-outs, specifically for geysers problems, since the restrictions started. He added that a major contributor to problems was the lack of awareness of residents during water cuts and geysers installed incorrectly.
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More at:http://northglennews.co.za/82947/geyser-issues-persist-during-water-cuts/
 
Umgeni Water ‘extremely’ worried about KZN dams

Durban - The taps have run dry in Greytown in the KwaZulu-Natal interior, and Umgeni Water has warned it is “extremely” concerned by levels at the Midmar and Albert Falls dams, which feed Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Umgeni Water on Monday called on consumers to cut consumption to stave off “acute water shortages” in the province’s two biggest cities.

Early on Sunday, the Umvoti Municipality, which has a population of more than 100 000, cut water to taps in Greytown and its surrounds.

Residents who had previously received tap water for only four hours a day - between 4am and 8am - were now relying on JoJo tanks.

Head of disaster and fire at Umvoti, Bheki Vilakazi, said the municipality had only about 16 functioning boreholes and these were insufficient to replenish the local reservoir and meet demand.

Lake Merthley, which had supplied water to Greytown, dried up last year.

Vilakazi said the Muden waterworks, 24km north-west of Greytown, were supplying water tankers.

These trucked water to the JoJo tanks in Greytown and the townships of Nhlalakahle, Solomon Mzolo and France.
The municipality has installed about 100 JoJo tanks since April last year.Vilakazi pleaded with residents to use water sparingly and railed against the theft and damage of water tanks and infrastructure.

“People vandalising the tanks (by stabbing them), and those stealing taps from the tanks should stop doing this, and start treating this infrastructure with respect as they would their own property.
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More at: http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-afr...ater-extremely-worried-about-kzn-dams-2036979
 
Bleak news for KZN dams

Durban – Several KwaZulu-Natal dams could dry up early next year, bulk water supplier Umgeni Water said on Monday.

The first predicted to reach “failure” level were the Hazelmere and Ixopo dams, in February 2017, spokesperson Shami Harichunder said.

They would be followed by the Albert Falls and Nagle dams in April 2017, the Midmar dam in May 2017, and the Inanda dam in December that year.

“Failure is when a dam becomes dry and all that is left is silt,” Harichunder said.

The consistent lack of rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal prompted Umgeni Water to release the predictions for dams in its jurisdiction.

No increase in restrictions

Harichunder said a joint operations committee resolved to keep the current water restrictions in place.

The situation would be reviewed fortnightly. If restrictions needed to be increased, an application would be made to the Department of Water and Sanitation.

“Water savings have become imperative. To secure water resources in the future, consumer behaviour has to change now.”

Municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal had to cut their water use by 15%. The committee had considered increasing this to 25%, but decided against it because of water savings already achieved.

Mandatory water restrictions of 50% were already in place in the Hazelmere system, which supplied the north of eThekwini and iLembe; and the Ixopo system, which supplied Ixopo and surrounds.

The Hazelmere and Ixopo dams were being supported by water transfer through emergency schemes constructed in mid-2015.

Decreasing dam levels

According to Harichunder, the Albert Falls dam was of a serious concern because it received water from the Midmar dam.

Because of the low level of Midmar, releasing water from it would not make a significant difference to Albert Falls. The Albert Falls dam in turn supplied the Nagle dam.

These level of these dams, with the exception of Spring Grove and Mearns dams, fell by 0.5% weekly, Harichunder said.

The level of the Spring Grove and Mearns dams was falling 3% weekly.

News24
Link: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/bleak-news-for-kzn-dams-20160704
 
Richards Bay could run dry - Department of Water and Sanitation

Johannesburg – Government is spending millions to prevent Richards Bay from running out of water, possibly within the year.

A total of R700 million had been set aside to ensure the area had a reliable water supply, Water and Sanitation Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said on Tuesday.

"The uMhlathuze municipal area and considerable portions of the surrounding rural areas, including in the uThungulu district municipality, are in the grip of a severe drought and could possibly run dry in 20 weeks," he said.

Short- and medium-term options included budgeting R410m to upgrade the Thukela Goedertrouw transfer scheme, through which water was pumped from the Thukela River to the Goedertrouw Dam.

Once completed, the scheme was expected to stabilize the water supply for approximately 15 years, according to current growth projections in the region.

The department was procuring mobile desalination plants at a cost of R350m. These would be used to produce clean, drinkable water until the scheme had been upgraded.

News24
Link: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...y-department-of-water-and-sanitation-20160705
 
schumi said:
Johannesburg – Government is spending millions to prevent Richards Bay from running out of water, possibly within the year.

A total of R700 million had been set aside to ensure the area had a reliable water supply, Water and Sanitation Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said on Tuesday.

"The uMhlathuze municipal area and considerable portions of the surrounding rural areas, including in the uThungulu district municipality, are in the grip of a severe drought and could possibly run dry in 20 weeks," he said.

Short- and medium-term options included budgeting R410m to upgrade the Thukela Goedertrouw transfer scheme, through which water was pumped from the Thukela River to the Goedertrouw Dam.

Once completed, the scheme was expected to stabilize the water supply for approximately 15 years, according to current growth projections in the region.

The department was procuring mobile desalination plants at a cost of R350m. These would be used to produce clean, drinkable water until the scheme had been upgraded.

News24
Link: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/N...y-department-of-water-and-sanitation-20160705
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And yet our municipality fails to even do the basic things to try and save water. They just send an sms every few days to fix your leaks. But municipal taps are left open at the beach and other areas. They also never check anybody's consumption to enforce water restrictions.
 
My parents live in PMB. Dad has told us to start looking for a place for them with us in Cape Town. Seems like this will be the final straw after all these years where they've insisted on living there. Now I just need to get my one buddy to sell his flat and move down here.
 
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