Service delivery protests brought Verulam to a halt on Monday when frustrated residents took to the streets over the ongoing water crisis, which has seen taps run dry for more than 90 days in some suburbs.
uMhlanga, Phoenix and Tongaat have also been hard hit by the water outages.
Residents blocked off all entry and exit points to Verulam – burning tyres and debris – saying their pleas to the eThekwini Municipality to have the water restored had fallen on deaf ears.
Rooksana Alli, 63, of Brindhaven, said they relied on water tankers to survive, but fetching water in buckets and containers was taking its toll on their health, especially the elderly.
"We are forced to walk to the tankers, which park on the main road, then walk uphill to our homes carrying 20 litre buckets. Some days, there is no water during the day as the tankers only come late in the evening. How are we supposed to walk such distances at night and put our lives at risk? There is no consideration for the elderly."
Khireen Singh, 31, of Dawncrest, said she had to close her paint shop, which was also in the same area.
“Our workers are complaining that they cannot come to work as they have no water to bath. Sadly, we cannot force them to come to work. The only solution was to close the shop.
“We mix paint and it is a messy job, so there needs to be water to wash our hands. There are also businesses such as block-makers and salons in the area that cannot work. How will we pay our bills at the end of the month?
“We also don’t have drinking water and there are so many poor people in the area. Who can afford to buy water all the time? It is very difficult. We can’t have a proper bath, or clean our homes, especially the toilets. We just want our running water back. It is our right to have running water but the city does not care.”
Roshan Lil-Ruthan, spokesperson for the Verulam Water Crisis Committee, said residents, in the formal and informal areas, had reached a breaking point.
“The protest was to make a statement to the local government and the eThekwini Municipality that enough is enough. There are residents who have been without water for 95 consecutive days. This is a humanitarian crisis.
“Our children, who have just returned to school, are also without water. The governing bodies are struggling to get water. This will not and cannot be tolerated.
“We believe this crisis is manufactured because every time there is a protest, the water suddenly flows back into taps. We want to send out a clear message that we will not tolerate lies and corruption. We demand that the water flows back to our taps immediately,” he said.
Lil-Ruthan said following the protests on Monday, some of the reservoirs, which serviced the area, had started to fill. However, most households were still without piped water yesterday.
He said the committee would meet with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) this week.
“We are deeply committed to resolving the Verulam water crisis and believe that engaging with the SAHRC will be a crucial step towards achieving a meaningful solution. The involvement of the SAHRC reinforces the urgency and significance of this issue, and we welcome their support and guidance during this critical time.”
In Tongaat, the water crisis has also continued unabated, leaving residents – many of whom are elderly – without piped water for weeks. They rely on the generosity of private companies for help.
Kissor Kandhialall, 75, and his wife, Radha, 70, who live in Plein Street, are now forced to survive on less than 60 litres for several days. This water has to be used for cooking, bathing and the toilet. For drinking, they rely on donations, but that too has become scarce.
“Nobody can see how we are struggling every day. We have to walk metres away from our home to collect the water from tankers. After every few steps, we have to stop and rest as we have breathing difficulties. We are not young and fit to be carrying 20 litre buckets,” Kissor said.
Radha said they could not afford bottled water for drinking and relied on water donations.
“‘But how do we make one 5 litre bottle last for days? It is also hot and we feel dehydrated. If I pour the water in a cup, I will drink it over two or three days – a sip at a time.”
Vasantha Govender, 67, said she and her husband, 83, were also struggling to collect water.
“I am a breast cancer survivor. I have carpal tunnel syndrome and vascular issues, so it is difficult to carry water from the road to the house. My husband is also sickly and cannot carry the heavy buckets or bottles. There is just no compassion for the elderly.”
Shantal Nair, a ward 61 committee member, said the water crisis was ongoing since the floods in April 2021.
“It has been on and off, and just when we think we are going to finally have some relief, we are hit twice as hard.
‘We are thankful to the two private entities that have been assisting us on a regular basis. We rarely get any municipal tankers in the area. We want to know what happened to all the new municipal tankers that were purchased because when we ask for a tanker, we are told there isn’t any.
“The residents of Tongaat, and especially Plein Street, which has many senior citizens, have had enough. If nothing is done soon to give us water in our taps, we will take to the streets to have our voices heard,” she said.
Gugu Sisilana, the city’s spokesperson, said the city was undertaking repairs in affected areas.
She said this included Tongaat where the main bulk pumping pipeline was washed away across the Plein Street River. This line carries water from the Tongaat South Reservoir.
“In the interim, work is being done to restore an emergency pipeline to supply the Tongaat South Reservoir. This is while plans to repair the main pipeline that was washed away, are in progress. The city’s teams are also on the ground implementing repairs to the Metcalf Bulk Pipeline. The pipeline was also damaged during the recent rains,” she said.
Sisilana said the recent rainfall had resulted in higher levels of turbidity in raw water from Hazelmere Dam.
“While every effort is being made to restore production back to normal, there will be supply reductions in the system until full production is restored,” she said.
Sisilana said in response to persistent water outages affecting Verulam and Phoenix, interventions were being implemented to increase water flow to affected reservoirs.
“However, this is dependent on available water supply. This is due to insufficient water resources to meet the current demands. The Phoenix 2 Reservoir Zone is struggling the most due to the increased number of static water tanks that residents have installed in their homes.
“The negative impact of having too many static tanks is that the available water supply is not shared equitably among residents. As water fills up in static tanks, some families experience intermittent or no water supply, while the reservoir builds up storage.”
Sisilana said in Verulam, the necessary refurbishment of pumps at the Mountview and Grange Reservoirs would be undertaken.
“Furthermore, as a long-term solution, alternative sources of supply from boreholes and the Grange Reservoir have been identified and will be implemented.
“Regular meetings are held between eThekwini Water and Sanitation officials and affected ward councillors to ensure information is cascaded to affected communities,” she said.