KZN water crisis: uMsunduzi residents feel being punished for city’s failures

This after the municipality detailed a 12-month-long water curtailment plan this week, coinciding with the introduction of a reduction programme in eThekwini.

Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said that, using a phased approach, they aim to reduce water use by 10%.

This is to help UMngeni-UThukela Water align with its licensed limits.

"The curtailment is aimed at enabling continued water availability,” the mayor explained.

“The risk of not enforcing the abstraction limit is that in the event of a drought, there may not be enough water in the system for UMngeni-uThukela water to consistently supply uMsunduzi Municipality with a reliable water source."

 READ: Tankers deployed to address Msunduzi Municipality water outages

The municipality says water restrictors will be installed in areas with high water losses.

"I think it comes from a space of frustration for us because, as ratepayers, many of us have reported water leaks, etc.,” said Kantha Naidoo, who is with the Lincoln Meade Residents and Ratepayers Association.

“These things have not been sorted and we now feel that we are being punished by doing this. Yet we think that if this were attended early, we would not have been in this situation we are currently facing now."

Meanwhile, Thebolla has apologised to residents in the northern areas who have been without water since the weekend.

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