Water returns to some Durban North and uMhlanga areas, others still face dry taps

Water has returned to home households in the Durban North and uMhlanga areas.

In a statement on Sunday, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson, Gugu Sisilana, said there has been some improvement overnight after the changeover from Reservoir 3 to Reservoir 2 at UMngeni-UThukela Water's Durban Heights Waterworks.

"However, the flow through Northern Aqueducts has still not recovered sufficiently and, as a result, three main reservoirs in uMhlanga are still empty or critically low. Meanwhile, one reservoir in uMhlanga is almost full. All Durban North reservoirs have recovered and some areas have started to receive water supply," she said.

The City said technical teams have been working tirelessly for the past five days to identify the cause of the water outage in uMhlanga, Durban North and surrounding areas.

"Yesterday, eThekwini Municipality opened a case of sabotage at the Greenwood Park Police Station after technical teams discovered that an air valve in a water pipeline was tampered with and another valve was vandalised. These valves have since been repaired by the municipality," Sisilana said.

She explained that yesterday, the teams dedicated most of their time checking air valves and installing some that were missing in the new Northern Aqueduct in order to start commissioning this new line.

"When the water challenges started the municipality was still in the process of commissioning the new pipeline. The Municipality was able to get part of this new pipeline ready for commissioning and this portion will be commissioned today. As a short-term intervention, water tankers will continue to supply water to affected residents until the system fully recovers," the City said.

Some of the affected areas include:

• Broadway

• Umgeni Park

• Park Hill

• uMhlanga Rocks

• uMhlanga

• Glen Anil

• La Lucia

• Virginia

• Prestondale

• Sunningdale

For more information regarding water supply, the public can call the toll-free number 080 311 1111 or use the eThekwini Water and Sanitation WhatsApp number 073 1483 477. Alternatively, email: [email protected]

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