eThekwini Municipality significantly reduces backlog in water leak reports

Despite grappling with vandalism, the eThekwini Municipality has reduced the backlogged number of reported water leak faults in the past months from 8,000 to below 900 due to several interventions.

Phoenix, Umlazi, Chatsworth, and Verulam remain with the highest number of leaks, though this number has started decreasing sharply following the deployment of Non-Revenue-Water plumbing teams.

The eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) unit presented the state of the water supply for September at an Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Sibusiso Vilane, acting director of the Water and Sanitation Unit, explained that all required plumbers are on shift to deal with leaks and bursts.

He said that some areas, however, have little to no statistics on leaks, adding that the North and Central are still the areas with the highest numbers of leaks, where more allocations are needed.

With regard to the South Coast Augmentation (SCA), inflows fluctuate between 65 and 80ml/day depending on upstream demand. He explained that the SCA pump station is switched off for six hours every day, between 3 and 9pm, to ensure the source is not drained.

According to him, the entire Wiggins system has been stable for over two months now following the implementation of the revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

He said that areas like Umkomaas and Craigieburn have had water for over three months.

Vilane said the procurement of sensors for Metering, Monitoring, and Modelling (MMM) by the uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) project has already commenced. This project entails the installation of sensors on EWS aqueducts and primary reservoirs.

Vilane said that the city has also allocated funding for the upgrade of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, where sensors for secondary reservoirs and pump stations are included.

In terms of safety and security, the EWS has deployed static security for strategic reservoirs and pump stations, which has led to a decrease in vandalism-related incidents at these facilities.

“The Ntuzuma 5 reservoir remains a challenge despite static security being present on site. Security Management Unit has been informed and is currently attending to the matter. Security along aqueducts remains a challenge where air valves and other critical components are repeatedly vandalised.”

Vilane said that there has been an increase in vandalism-related incidents on pressure-reducing valves, particularly in the Inanda, Ntuzuma, and KwaMashu (INK) area, resulting in extended outages.

“The department is implementing various alternatives, including plastic fittings, though they don’t last. We are looking at the modification of existing chambers to restrict access, and ensuring regular inspections are undertaken. We met about a month ago with the Community Policing Forum and the public, and since then, we have seen a decline in vandalism and theft in the INK area,” he explained.