Residents from Chatsworth, Northdene and, Shallcross, South-West of Durban have been without water for almost a week. The cause of the break in service was caused by the eThekwini Municipality’s ageing infrastructure.

Last week the Water and Sanitation teams were said to be repairing the main water pipes  that supply the three areas. According to the municipalities spokesperson, Mswakhe Mayisela, the main problem was that most of the cities infrastructure was ageing and in dire need of maintenance repairs or replacement.

“The Municipality has experienced an increased number of faults at the pump and treatment works which has impacted negatively on the delivery of basic water service. These faults are due to ageing infrastructure but can also be attributed
to external factors of vandalism, load shedding, and the population expansion in the Municipality,” explained Mayisela.

Local resident, Mzomuhle Meyiwa, out of frustration tweeted on municipalities page, expressing his agitation at the inconvenience of being without water.

“Today is the second day without water and you have not deployed water tanks to the affected areas, how are we supposed to mention good hygiene during this difficult time of Covid-19 without water?” He said.

While water is known to be an essential service, it is considered more crucial now, because the outbreak  of #COVID requires that the public wash and sanitise their hands at every given opportunity.

Nqubeko Mbhele