Water crisis in Durban North 'spiralling out of control'

"On a weekly basis, in the seven days, you can expect out of those seven days you won't have water for three days," says Heinz de Boer, who is with the DA in Durban North. 

 

"Businesses can't function, we have doctors and dentists and butcheries and those kinds of industries who had to close their doors when there's no water."

 

De Boer says some homes have been without water for seven days. 

 

"The entire Durban North area has been subjected to water cuts for at least six months to a year. It started with the floods when pipes were washed away and since then, intermittently large parts of the city sometime receive water and sometime not receive water."

 

De Boer says they've been trying to get assistance from the municipality but in order to cope, many residents have had to install their own water storage tanks. 

 READ:   Angry Phoenix, Verulam residents take to streets over water crisis

"The municipal tankering services and the tanker all suddenly seemed to have disappeared. We call them ghost tankers now and the elderly are dependent on it and a lot of people are dependent on Jojo tanks, connected to their gutters. And we have water tankers that are strategically placed in the ward."

 

On Monday, community members in Phoenix and Verulam handed over a memorandum of demands to eThekwini over prolonged water cuts in their areas.