A maintenance shutdown of the Durban Heights reservoir is underway, further frustrating residents who have had to bear with little to no water supply over the past week.
Residents north of Durban have had water outages over a period of days for more than a week.
Households in Verulam, Tongaat, Umhlanga and Phoenix have been among the worst affected, with Phoenix and Trenance Park in Verulam seemingly the hardest hit.
Gugu Sisilana, the spokesperson for the eThekwini Municipality, said: “The issue was caused by a power failure which affected the Durban Heights Treatment Works. This resulted in reduced volumes to the Northern aqueduct.
“A total shutdown will be undertaken on Tuesday, 21 November. Upon completion this will ensure sufficient volumes to Durban Heights and eliminate reliance on power supply. It will take approximately seven days after this shutdown for the system to fully recover. The area has a supply, albeit it is intermittent.”
The 18-hour shutdown was planned to begin from 1am on Tuesday, November 21, up to 8pm on the same day. During this time some parts of Durban will experience a reduction in pressure and water interruptions.
“By undertaking this maintenance shutdown now, uMngeni-uThukela Water aims to minimise the possibility of bulk water interruptions ahead of the start of the busy festive season,” the municipality said in a statement.
“To minimise this impact, we urge the public to use water sparingly and delay activities that consume additional water such as the washing of cars, watering gardens or filling up swimming pools during this time.”
Get a copy of POST on Wednesday to find out more about what has caused this situation and what local councillors are saying. For further updates follow eThekwini Municipality and uMngeni-uThukela Water on social media.
For more details and updates on which areas and roads are affected by the current shutdown see eThekwini Municipality and uThukela Umngeni Water social media pages.