The Municipality's failure to deliver services has been causing many households to rely on unclean water for consumption in eThekwini.
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Ntuzuma residents, north of Durban, transport their containers to the municipal water tank. The taps have remained dry for over three weeks after a fire destroyed the Ntuzuma Pump Station. ©Photo: Nokulunga Majola/ GroundUp |
Thousands of residences in Ntuzuma, north of Durban, have been without water for over three weeks after a fire damaged the Ntuzuma Pump Station 2.
The eThekwini Municipality has not yet appointed a contractor to rebuild the damaged pump station, which is still closed. The municipality claims to send water tankers to impacted villages regularly, but some residents say they frequently miss out on the water when the truck arrives during work hours.
Lindiwe Khuzwayo, the municipality's head of communications, stated that an electrical problem caused the fire at the Ntuzuma Pump Station.
The City is currently following all supply chain management processes in appointing a contractor to repair the damage.
The fire destroyed infrastructure, including the control room and electrical equipment. The municipality has been failing to resolve this problem and continues to make promises it is not willing to fulfill.
She stated that the City intends to build water tanks. She did not specify how many tanks will be delivered or where they would be placed.
Khuzwayo added:
The City will also be allowing residents to collect water from the reservoir once measures are put in place. The Municipality apologises for the inconvenience
Some locals claim to have resorted to gathering water from nearby rivers, which they claim is unsafe for human consumption, while others claim to have traveled long distances to collect water in containers.
Many persons who spoke with GroundUp reporters expressed worry about the City's delayed reaction in repairing the pump station.
